Helen Anderson Cole

Helen Anderson Cole was born in 1922 in Senath, a small town in the Missouri Bootheel. Her family soon relocated to St. Louis, where she grew up in poverty. Helen dreamed of a better life as a famous singer. She eventually did become known for her singing talent, but not quite in the manner she anticipated.

Helen first encountered Pentecostalism at a St. Louis mission hall, and it wasn’t long before she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Her pastor, Harry Branding, quickly recognized her vocal talent and prophesied that she would sing all around the world.

She hadn’t quite given up her dream of worldly fame, however. When a friend suggested that Helen audition at the Municipal Opera, she did and was one of three finalists. Her photo appeared on the front page of a local newspaper, prompting her brother to confront her about her intentions. Helen repented and decided to consecrate her life to proclaiming the gospel.

God opened the door for Helen to fulfill her dreams by becoming a “singing evangelist.” She met her husband, Gus Anderson, during a revival in Indianapolis, Indiana. After evangelizing together, the couple began planting churches throughout the Midwest.

Harry Branding’s prophecy was repeatedly fulfilled throughout the course of Helen’s life. She frequently was asked to sing at the UPCI’s annual General Conference. At the 1955 conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Marilyn Gazowsky asked Helen to sing “You Must Be Born Again.” As Helen sang, God’s Spirit moved in a powerful way and the congregation responded with forty-five minutes of spontaneous worship. Her children recalled, “We never saw our mother ever come to the platform to sing without the congregation coming to their feet in worship.”

Tragically, Gus Anderson died at a young age, leaving Helen as a forty-eight-year-old widow. Despite her grief, Helen continued her ministry as an evangelist. While attending General Conference, she met the recently widowed J. C. Cole, who also was a minister and a member of the UPC’s Foreign Missions Board. The couple married, and together they served as pastors of Apostolic United Pentecostal Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia. They also traveled extensively, preaching and ministering around the world.

While preaching overseas, J. C. and Helen saw thousands receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. When J. C. Cole died, Helen continued serving as an international evangelist, preaching throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and many other countries. She financed her travels in-part by holding garage sales that earned as much as two thousand dollars. 

God blessed Helen’s efforts and her preaching. Once, Helen traveled three hundred kilometers into the Australian Outback to preach a three-day revival to the Aboriginals. In that series of meetings, God filled 146 people with His Spirit. On another occasion, she was preaching to a primitive tribe in Papua New Guinea when tribal war broke out. When Helen’s life was threatened, she responded by doing what she always had done: she sang. She later recalled, “At the top of my voice, I began to sing, ‘I want to live the way He wants me to live; I want to give until there’s just no more to give; I want to love, love till there's just no more love; I could never ever out love the Lord.’” The Holy Spirit froze the hostile warriors in their tracks and spared Helen’s life.

Helen lived by the motto “You too can make it!” and even wrote a book with that title. She was faithful to God, her family, and the United Pentecostal Church International. Her children followed her into the ministry, and she is considered a grandmother to Billy Cole’s, Hilda Cunningham’s, and David Cole’s families. Helen Cole Anderson’s legacy lives on through their lives and ministries.