J. Harper Rose
 

I never knew Bro. J. Harper Rose. When I was in St. Paul, MN at Bible School I heard about him from someone from Ohio. I heard that he was a humble man somewhere in Ohio who spent a lot of time in fasting and prayer. Ohio seemed like a world away to an 18 year old boy from Wisconsin back then. His son, Hugh Rose, was in St. Paul at the same time as I was but he was an upper classman and we never knew one another. I knew who he was but I doubt if he knew who I was. I was told a story (whether it was really true or not I guess I’ll never know) that Bro. J. Harper Rose stated that he pastored a small church and would probably never accomplish a whole lot for the Lord so he prayed for other ministers and their ministries. One time he decided to go on a 40 day fast. Some time during that period he went blind but continued to fast. Then after he completed the fast, his sight returned. When I came to Ohio in the spring of 1957, I would see Pastor J. Harper Rose’s name and the church name, Church of Jesus of the Apostles’ Doctrine, or The Apostles’ Doctrine Church for short, in the UPC Ohio District News and in the Pentecostal Herald. It was a small church but seemed like it was always listed in those publications for the offerings they gave. I never met him nor visited his Church. I still don’t even know where Jewett, Ohio is. The Church is now named the Harrison Hills United Pentecostal Church and is pastored by J. Hugh Rose, who is the late J. Harper Rose’s son.


This is from pages 209-215 (Chapter 20) of Old Time Preacher Men, copyright 1992 by Word Aflame Press.



JOSEPH HARPER ROSE
by Treajetta Streley

Joseph Harper Rose was born April 12, 1892, in Wellsville, Ohio. His parents, William and Matilda Tarr Rose, had four other children: Mary, Ella, Cora, and Harry.

Young Harper learned meat cutting from his father, a butcher. Mr. Rose got sick in 1904, and at twelve Harper shouldered the burden of the Richmond, Ohio, butcher shop and slaughterhouse, and took over the cattle buying. He and his sister Mary ran the family peddle-wagon route as their father lay dangerously ill.

Being a violinist in a group of music makers earned Harper entry to dances, socials, and parties in several nearby towns. One of his acquaintances, Earl Van Allen, offered a bulldog for sale that Harper decided to see. From that first visit to the Van Allen home grew the romance of his life. Joseph Harper Rose met Lottie Louella Van Allen, and they attended he Lisbon fair on their first date in 1912. They married in Chester, West Virginia, December 23, 1914, then set up housekeeping on Walnut Street in Richmond. Harper returned to thefamily meat market.

In September 1915 the newlyweds moved to the family farm, and with a single cow and a few sheep, began farming. Butter sales became a mainstay of the family budget and remained so through the arrivals of Ella May, an anniversary gift on December 23, 1915; Edith Marie on November, 17, 1918; and Dorothy Jean on September 6, 1920.

Early in 1923 the Rose brothers, Harper and Harry, bought an established butcher shop in Jewett, Ohio. The farm equipment and stock were sold, and the growing family moved to the apartment above the meat market. On March 30, 1923, a fourth daughter, Martha Esther, was born.

A gentle, loving father, Harper Rose worked long, long hours and often saw his daughters only in their beds at evening. He spurned punishment in favor of discipline, seasoned well with prayer and guidance from the Word. Each child felt so special that each considered herself his favorite.

Harper didn’t know how much he wanted a son until July 15, 1925, when Paul William arrived, welcomed by his four sisters. In 1927 the Rose family moved from above the business to a large house on Main Street in Jewett. The slaughterhouse, meat market, and peddle wagon still supported the family. The family enjoyed summertime when the children got to go on the route with their adored Daddy. One night, quite late, Harper Rose returned from his day’s labors to a slumbering house. He and Lottie wakened the children so they could enjoy a special treat—chocolate ice cream and Daddy.


Harper Rose found a good helpmate in Lottie. She supported his every enterprise and valued his walk with God, his power in prayer, and his profound knowledge of the Word. If ever she felt he was bordering on error, however, she said so!

In one instance Brother Rose had a tremendous “revelation” and enthusiastically expounded his new “truth.” She listened, then looked up and asked, “Where in the Word did you find that?” Harper looked very peculiar for a moment, then said softly, “Thank you! Oh, thank you, thank you!” Occasionally she reminded him that the Bible says, “Preach the word.” This helped Pastor J. Harper Rose to fulfill his ministry for forty faithful years.

The family altar was sacred. Harper Rose repeatedly told his children that he was leading them in all the light he had, and cautioned that if God ever shed more light on the Scripture, it must be accepted and obeyed. He rarely went anywhere without his Bible. Midday found him at lunch at the back of the butcher shop, seated on a high stool, his meal before him and the Word in his hand. He lived the Word. An acquaintance once asked what he searched for and Harper Rose answered, “I’m seeing if I still love the Lord.” The man demanded a better answer and Harper Rose readily replied, “The Bible says, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments,’ and so I want to be sure I know them all.”

Into this faithful dedication came the opportunity to serve in greater fullness and truth. While delivering meat to a restaurant in Georgetown in 1932, Harper Rose first heard the message of Jesus Name baptism and the indwelling Spirit of God. Sister Dollie White, visiting from Short Creek, West Virginia, shared the scriptural truth of the mighty God in Christ. Through that testimony has grown the tremendous work in Harrison County, Ohio, and the surrounding area. After carefully searching the Scriptures, Harper Rose accepted the message and was baptized in Jesus’ name by Brother Albert Waite in Bridgeport, Ohio, in 1933. In 1941, Ella May, Martha, Sister Louie Rose, and Edith received the Holy Spirit. Brother Rose prayed through to the Holy Ghost under the ministry of Evangelist Willie Lane Johnson.

Brother Rose had been a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. After his acceptance of greater truth, he was astounded to find out that his Presbyterian family and friends were not delighted in his experience. A close relative came into the meat market, railing against Harper, declaring him a disgrace, accusing him of heresy, and attacking him physically. Yet Harper never wavered.

Although he had loved and served the Lord from childhood, Harper Rose had been a pouter. When displeased, he clamped his jaw shut and refused to reveal what troubled him. This technique gave his dear wife a sick headache. But one blessed day the Lord took the pout away and put the Spirit in its place!

An extra blessing arrived to the Roses on November 21, 1934, when Joseph Hugh Rose, the delight of his parents, four sisters and brother, joined the family.

Family worship brought spiritual refreshing. I Peter 1:18-21 was read, emphasizing the precious blood of Jesus. Brother Rose loved to sing songs that glorified the name, and psalms were sung from the Presbyterian Psalter. Among the family favorites were Psalms 23, 45, 87, and 128. Young Hughie knew that by requesting Psalm 128 he could see the retribution due all his naughty pranks washed away in Mother’s tears. There he also learned that his sins could be washed away in his heavenly Father’s waters of baptism.

The first meeting of the Jesus Name Church of Jewett, Ohio, was held in a renovated barber shop and pool hall on November 4, 1945, under Pastor Rose with eight people attending. About that time D. J. White of Akron, Ohio, preached a tent revival in town. Mexican railroad laborers worked nearby, and during a service, a message in tongues was brought forth in Spanish. Railroad employees listening outside overheard and interpreted the message.

Brother Rose held meetings in a tent in Cherry Valley and at Leesville, and in a school building in Rumley, Ohio. Betty Yeager discovered through these meetings that there were other Jesus Name believers in Harrison County and became a part of the congregation of believers in Jewett. She and many members of her family are still a part of the church today.

God has blessed this congregation with growth since its beginning. Occasionally, however, no one but family sat before Pastor Rose as he preached. On one occasion as he preached to an empty church, a small girl asked, “Were you practicing, Mr. Rose?” But the original sanctuary soon overflowed, and they needed Sunday school space. The Jesus Name Church of Jewett was renamed the Apostles’ Doctrine Church and affiliated with the
United Pentecostal Church.

to be continued in part 2

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

part 2

Brother Rose instituted an annual celebration of the Feast of Pentecost in 1953, a time of warm fellowship and food. He was a man of prayer, and the altar at church was his workbench and his resting place. He often wept and prayed all night.

The sweet rain of the Spirit nourished the seeds sown in tears by this great pioneer. As the seed bore more fruit, he began to search for more suitable property, which resulted in the purchase of an acre of ground just outside Jewett. On May 25, 1969, Pastor J. Harper Rose snipped a yellow ribbon opening the new building and a new chapter in the history of the church in Harrison County, Ohio.

The history of this assembly is the history of Brother Rose, for the work of the Lord was his life. Always the needs of the church were considered in the family budget. While he never neglected the house of God, Brother Rose was often impatient with his own physical limitations. He always wanted to do more than one day’s hours and one man’s strength permitted. When he had his tonsils removed, he boarded the train in the morning, underwent surgery at midday, and was home by suppertime. Yet with others in illness, pain, or distress, he was deeply caring and extremely patient.

The saints reflected this spirit of giving. The church at Jewett became known as a giving church, and a large missionary commitment grew ever larger as God blessed. Pastor Rose found a box about the size of an orange crate. This he called the missionary box, and he desired that it literally overflow with offerings for world evangelism. To those with nothing to give, he frequently advised that they look into the box and see the vacant space so that they would “know the need.” God rewarded the saints’ faithful giving, and in 1973, less than five years after occupancy, the new facility was paid for, and Pastor Rose held a mortgage burning service with great rejoicing. This was one of the last services in which Pastor Rose was able to minister actively. How great was his rejoicing as he led in praises to God for His great blessings!

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

A few years ago I read a book by Denzil Holman titled “The Altar Builders.” It was copyrighted in 2006 by him and printed by the Pentecostal Publishing House. Some of the chapters were writings of others on the subject of the altar or altars.

Part of chapter 12 was written by J. Hugh Rose and is titled “The Incredible Impact of My Father’s Altar” it is on pages 155-158 and reads as follows:


Very few days have gone by, since the Lord has given me the privilege of following my dear father’s steps as pastor of the Harrison Hills Church, that I don’t have the opportunity of seeing the altar where this dear and godly man spent untold hours and shed many tears as he prayed at this altar, then located in the mission church he pioneered and pastored in Jewett, Ohio. Since our family lived right next door to the church and since in those days, during the warmer months, the windows of the church as well as our home were open, the last thing I heard before going to sleep and the first thing I heard in the morning were the prayers of my wonderful and dedicated dad.

Every memory of this precious man is priceless, and thanks to the excellent work of another quiet and godly man, the late Brother Walter Soptelean, we have the original altar from the mission church set very beautifully in an “altar arrangement” at the front of our prayer room, which is the center of our present church structure. The Lord willing, we will soon have this altar piece pictured on our church’s web page www.pages.eohio.net/hhupc. This display will be a marvelous memorial to two very wonderful men, Brother Walter Soptlelean and Brother J. Harper Rose.

The Day That I Pray That I Will Never Forget

Brother Harper Rose was such a dedicated husband and father. His wife, Lottie, and each of his four daughters and his two sons were very special and dear to him. His prayer was that God would do for him what He did for Noah, that God would save his entire family so that all of the family would go together into the “heavenly ark” at the rapture of the church. His first son, Paul, was the son for whom he had prayed; however, during his teenage years of his life took on habits that were very difficult for our parents. When he was only a freshman, we were aroused from sleep to hear that Paul and some of his friends were inebriated and driving quite wildly through the village. We immediately began to pray. In what seemed to be a long time, Paul was brought into the house and laid on the couch where Mother administered the “get sober” remedies and Dad wept and prayed.

This incident made an indelible impression upon me as a very young child, a memory that I will likely never forget. Paul was a very dear person, very kind, but tragically weak in resisting temptation. He fell hopelessly in love when he was in junior high and never stopped loving the girl who actually never loved him and brought unending heartache to him, which was another “reason” that drinking remained a part of his life.

I have mentioned this incident only to create the background for the real reason for this article. Our Dad prayed about everything and for everyone he possible could. Paul tried many times to make things right with the Lord but would find himself over and over again haunted with the temptation to drink. Years later, after Paul returned from WWII where he had a great deal of illness, he was finally diagnosed with leukemia. His post-WWII life was filled with illness and much heartache with the final breakup of his marriage (again, from the woman he never stopped adoring). He spent a good deal of time in and out of veterans’ hospitals. His last hospital visit was the veterans’ hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, just a little over an hour from our family home in Jewett, Ohio. God in His mercy brought a male Apostolic nurse to care for Paul, and thankfully this wonderful and godly man dealt with Paul about his soul and prayed with him until he was renewed in the Holy Ghost.

This was such a thrill to all of us, and we will always be deeply indebted to the young Apostolic nurse who was such a minister of mercy to our brother Paul. Paul passed away in the Pittsburgh veterans’ hospital and was brought back to Jewett. To add to the irony of the total experience, his older daughter was planning her wedding, and the date for the wedding turned out to be the day after Paul passed away.

Dad now had a wedding to deal with during the time when he was grieving (but not as those who have no hope) at the passing of his son. The day that the funeral director brought Paul to the family home for viewing, as was the custom in our small community, the casket was opened, the lamps and the flowers arranged, and all of the sudden, missed Dad. Knowing him as we all did, I knew that the place to look for him was at the church. When I walked quietly into the side door of the church, the Lord allowed me to witness probably one of the most memorable pictures that I would ever have in my entire, now nearly seventy-two years of life. Dad was lying on the floor in front of the altar. His face was “buried” in the place where the carpet of the platform met the carpet in front of the altar, and this was his prayer, “Lord, I will never stop praising your name. You did for me what, even though I sincerely prayed, I could see no way that it would ever happen. I asked you to never let me look upon the face of my son and know that he was lost. Lord, even though I wanted to have faith when I prayed, it seemed as though in spite of everything Paul was going to be lost. But today, Lord, I have come to thank you for bringing my son back to you so that, when he left this life, he would be with you.”

Believe me, hearing a prayer like this from my godly father was more powerful than I can even begin to explain. I had heard him pray for all of his children so many times. When he prayed, he literally “talked things over” with the Lord, so I was not surprised when he told the Lord that even though he had prayed for his son, it looked as though Paul was “hell bent” on destruction.

From that day on, the altar in the mission church in Jewett had new meaning to me. Now, thanks to a very dear man who has also gone to be with the Lord,we have the very altar where faithful saints shed many tears and, in a small mission, many people “prayed through” to the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Brother Holman, for the privilege of sharing our story.

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

Thanks, Sam.

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

God is so good.

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

thanks

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

I like to post stuff about some of these unsung, unnoticed and unknown "heroes."

We notice folks in places of prominence and they receive the applause, adulation, and acclaim of men but God has multitudes of saints quietly and faithfully fulfilling their calling.

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

I remember hearing Hugh Rose sing at Youth Rally's when I was a teen. He was fantastic!!

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

this is the song I think of when I think of Hugh Rose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obG7Yh_yxCc

Re: J. Harper Rose
 

Hi Bro Sam....thanks for sharing the story about Brother J. Harper Rose. I grew up at the Jewett Church and attended when it was still called the Apostles Doctrine Church, in the very early 70's.

J. Harper Rose was an amazing man. He was full of the Holy Ghost and had a remarkable love for souls. The whole Rose family was filled with such a sweet spirit. It wasn't too long after I started attending church there, that Bro. Hugh Rose came to Jewett from Indianapolis to became the pastor. From the beginning of his pastorate, he set in motion a dynamic ministry that grew and flourished through the years. The church was in the middle of nowhere....but at it's peak, attendance was more than 500. They had an extensive bus route.

Bro. Rose's sister, Ella May, was my Sunday School teacher for several years. She was the most Godly woman I've ever met. Loving, supportive, humble, and just an amazing woman. The entire family was just so loving and kind. Brother Rose has since retired, and is now the Bishop. The church has a new pastor.

I have such fond memories of my church upbringing there. This church provided a stable foundation for me during my youth and young adulthood. I can't tell you in words just how amazing this church family was.

Just happened across your post and had to respond.