Recently, at 80 years of age, minister Charles Capps went home to be with the Lord. After publically sharing the influence this man of the faith had (and still has) on my life, it occurred to me that many of you don’t know who he is. It’s surprising to run into Christians who don’t know who Charles Capps is but what’s worse is that if he remains unknown in your life, so are his teachings and we can’t have that!
Allow me to formally introduce you to Charles Capps
Born to a family of farmers, Capps followed in the family business and began farming cotton, rice, and soybeans right out of high school in 1951. The hard work and lessons he would learn as a farmer became central in his understanding of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit graciously used his farming experience to unlock some amazing truths that have become his legacy.
As a teenager he joined the “Flying Farmers” and became a pilot. He didn’t realize that his ability to fly would serve a higher purpose much later on as he traveled the world speaking on the subject of soul-winning to organizations like, Youth With A Mission. His passion for evangelism became a staple in his ministry and he became a sought after speaker who had a knack for training men and women to win the lost.
Charles Capps Ministry’s Tribute Page on their website says that later, “He was told about the ministry of Kenneth E. Hagin and given a small book called, Right and Wrong Thinking. The concept of “what we think – we say, and what we say – we believe” struck a chord with him and he began to study the Bible in a new light. He began to realize that his words had power, so he changed what he was saying and what he was thinking. It was a struggle to get out of the negative stream of life, but soon he saw the fruit of his words and his life began to change.”
It’s obvious that the Lord called him to teach the Body of Christ about Faith and Confession. His time as a farmer aided his understanding as he expounded on the power of Words. He began to teach that;
Words are like seeds and we plant them into the ground of our heart by speaking them out loud. If you want soybeans to grow, don’t plant Johnson grass seed! You reap what you sow.
Jennifer LeClaire, who did an amazing job gathering this information and reporting on his life stated that,
Invitations to minister to the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International began to pour in, eventually leading to the publication of Capps’ teachings in book form. The Tongue a Creative Force and God’s Creative Power Will Work for You became best-sellers. These two books have sold millions—the God’s Creative Power series has sold more than 5 million copies—and are still much in demand today.
Charles Capps is the Apostle of Confession and it wasn’t just a gimmick. I heard him once say, “I don’t want to practice what I preach. I only want to preach what I practice” and that’s exactly what he did. On Friday, February 21, 2014 he declared to his wife that he would be “going home” that Sunday and that Sunday at 5:15 this saint of God went on to Heaven exactly as he confessed.
His daughter Annette Capps describes his final moments perfectly;
My Dad informed the family and close friends on Friday that he would be going home to heaven in 3 days. After having some final words with family and friends on Saturday, he went to bed, went to sleep and never awoke. (He kept saying, “I want to go in my sleep.”) My mother, sister and I had the privilege of being with him as he finally got that glorified body he always talked about. Charles Capps was a man of integrity, a man of his word and he got what he said. He called those things that be not as though they were.
What a life! What a legacy! It would be a shame if in our new-fangled, modernized Church we forgot the tried and tested principles laid out by this man of God. Listen to his teachings, glean from his writings, and receive from this giant of the faith.
Here’s another great teaching by Charles Capps;
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN0SPTlNEWc]
I heard Charles Capps preach on Kenneth Copeland’s programme in the late 90’s and was amazed at his Godly wisdom, Supernatural knowledge and amazing understanding of The Word of God. I cried buckets when I heard he had gone to heaven .. Praise God for Charles Capps and the way God used him .. a very dear, gentle and kind man in my book.