Denzil Richardson

Denzil Richardson was born in the hills of Kentucky on April 2, 1922. Due to his family’s poverty, paying for an education was extremely difficult. He left school after his freshman year and went to work to help support his family.

World War II came and Richardson enlisted in the Army. He had been raised attending church but was not prepared for what he would face. Not expecting to survive, he turned to alcohol. Despite this, he promised the Lord he would do anything God asked of him.

After the war, Richardson returned to Kentucky and married his sweetheart, Freida Isabel Gosser, on August 4, 1945. However, his struggle with alcohol intensified. On Richardson’s first day at a new job in Cincinnati, Ohio, he saw a man walking across the factory floor and realized there was something different about this coworker. He went home and told Freida, “I saw a man that, if anyone ever had religion, he has it.” That man, Ernie Cox, began witnessing to Richardson. Ernie told him, “Denzil, you need the Holy Ghost.” Having been raised a Methodist, Richardson did not agree.

Though mocked by fellow workers, Ernie and Denzil spent their lunch hour each day arguing about the Bible. One night, Richardson came across a verse that stopped him: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). This required Richardson to go back to see what gospel Paul preached. He found that what Ernie had been telling him was true. After about six months, Richardson agreed to take his family to a Pentecostal church. In that service, he knew he had finally found truth.

After the family had gone to bed that night, Richardson knelt and prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand about this Holy Ghost, but if it’s for me, I want it.” Beside the couch, he received the Holy Ghost and was immediately delivered from alcohol. He and Freida were then baptized in Jesus’ name.

The Richardsons started going back home to Kentucky on weekends to witness, and many were baptized and received the Holy Ghost. When they prayed that God would send a pastor to the area, the Lord told Richardson to be the pastor. They sold their house, furniture, new car, and anything else of value and took the money back to Kentucky, where they bought a lot in town and began building a church.

One day, after various ministry stops, the Richardsons saw a documentary on Madagascar and a burden began to grow in their hearts. They submitted a missionary application to the Foreign Missions department of the United Pentecostal Church. Before meeting the missions board, the Lord spoke to Richardson and said, “You will not be going to Madagascar, but I am sending you to the Philippines.” Sure enough, the board told the Richardsons they could not send anyone to Madagascar because of financial restraints but asked if they would consider going to the Philippines. In June 1962, Denzil, Freida, and their four children, Judy, Jerry, Randy, and Cathy, boarded the ship for the Philippines. The Lord blessed their efforts. Soon after arriving in Mindanao, an entire church was baptized in Jesus’ name. Several young men in that congregation had attended a Protestant Bible school and became leaders in the harvest which was to come. One became the assistant superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church of the Philippines. A church also was constructed in Davao City.

Soon five years had passed, and it was time for furlough. The missions board asked the Richardsons if they would now be willing to go to Madagascar. Their first reaction was no, but when they prayed, it was clear it was time for them to go to Madagascar.

Thirteen years had passed since the Lord first spoke to them about going to Madagascar. In June 1969, they arrived in that nation. They did not have a single contact, and they could not speak the language. They rented a house, and in February 1970 began hosting church services in the garage. People were baptized and received the Holy Ghost. The work grew, and they eventually purchased a building. Other works were opened, so training workers became a priority. Denzil Richardson had the ability to put the truth into the hearts of men so deeply they could not be shaken. By 1976 there were six churches and nine credentialed ministers in Madagascar. 

A newly elected socialist government created conditions that caused the hearts of the people to seek God. In just two years, the work grew from six to fifty churches. More leaders were trained and doors were opening quickly. 

Richardson had developed heart problems, so they made the decision to return to the United States. In his mind, he was coming home to die. He later was completely healed but felt it was not the will of God to return to Madagascar. He was elected pastor of a church in Tennessee, where he served for eight years, when he decided it was time to retire and move home to Kentucky. Retirement did not last long, as he soon was elected pastor of a small church with seven voting members. The congregation grew and eventually constructed a new building with no debt. Richardson then decided to retire again.

The work in Madagascar continued to grow. The Richardsons’ two sons, Jerry and Randy, were both appointed missionaries to that nation. The work in Madagascar is now led by their grandson and has more than fourteen hundred churches and approximately four hundred thousand constituents. The sacrifices made by Denzil and Freida Richardson continue to produce fruit.

The work in Madagascar has now spread to other nations. Malagasy preachers have opened new fields in Gabon, Congo, Reunion, Mayotte, Seychelles, and Comoros. The Richardson family also has continued preaching, with two sons, two grandsons, and a great-grandson currently holding ministerial credentials with the UPCI.

On June 27, 2010, Denzil Richardson said farewell to this world. His labors continue through the lives he touched. Regardless of what he accomplished, he always made it clear: “All the glory goes to Jesus!”