Remembering Jerry Savelle

One of my favorite preachers went home to be with the Lord this past Monday. Jerry Savelle was born on Christmas Eve, 1946 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His family later moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. At ten years old, he heard the call to preach while watching Oral Roberts on television but resisted that calling for years. After marrying Carolyn Creech, Jerry continued pursuing an automotive career until finally surrendering to Jesus in February 1969. The Lord directed him to shut his business down and spend time daily listening to teaching tapes by Kenneth Copeland. Jerry later worked for Brother Copeland for two years before starting his own ministry.

As a young believer, I first heard Jerry Savelle in February 1992 as the guest speaker at Living Word Christian Center. I immediately liked his humor and the “adventures in faith” he shared. A few months later, I heard Jerry minister at another local church. Near the end of the service, someone sitting behind me gave me a $100 bill. It was the first time a stranger handed me money. Whenever I heard Jerry talk about angels, I thought of this person. Therefore, I believe he was an angel.


The following year, Jerry did a weeklong series of meetings with Jesse Duplantis at Living Word. It was billed as “a double dose of the Holy Ghost.” As a volunteer in the church’s tape ministry, I made copies and re-listen to the messages. They helped me in my Christian growth. I would hear Jerry many more times at Living Word and other churches. When I left my job at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to make a trip to Toronto, I stopped at a church in the Chicago area to hear Jerry minister there.


Jerry Savelle often taught on the favor of God (that inspired one rapper to create a song called “Flavor Flow”). He shared testimonies of meeting drivers at the Indianapolis 500 and boyhood hero Mickey Mantle after attending a New York Yankees Old-Timers game. One of my favorite stories by Jerry is from his teaching, “If Satan Can’t Steal Your Joy, He Can’t Keep Your Goods.” The devil once stole $3,000 from Jerry. A revelation of Proverbs 6:30-31 resulted in him receiving a sevenfold restoration.  


In recent years, Jerry Savelle was one of the speakers at Living Word’s annual Upper Midwest Faith Explosion. While I’ll miss hearing Jerry again at that conference, I look forward to seeing him in heaven. Thank you, Brother Jerry, for the changed lives that resulted from you obeying the call of God. 


“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” - Matthew 25:21


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