CHURCH OF GOD
CHRONICLE
S
LILLIE TILGHMAN: Leading Her
Family in Christian Witness
by Louis F. Morgan
the Tilghman family. When two children During that same visit, Lemons baptized
were injured in a wagon accident that left Tilghman and her 10 children and
“Lillie Tilghman is the mother of 10 children, them unable to move and another child received them into the Church of God.
all of whom are devoted Christians. It is truly contracted typhoid fever, Lillie prayed and Tilghman’s Chapel Church of God
delightful to hear them sing and pray. One each child was healed instantly. Years served area residents until 1925, when
can’t help but feel he is near heaven’s gate to
be in her house.”—M.S. Lemons, 1914
Lillie Tilghman, far right, is pictured
with her 10 children and their families
L
ILLIE TILGHMAN was a devout
outside the family home shortly after
member of a Baptist congregation
they constructed a building for the
near Hardy, Mississippi. Following
Tilghman’s Chapel Church of God
the death of her husband, she relied on
near Hardy, Mississippi, in 1914.
God for guidance in raising her 10 chil-
dren. She regularly read Scripture and
prayed for direction, sometimes praying
for hours at a time. During one such time
of prayer, Lillie began to speak in a lan-
guage she did not know. She was sur-
prised, but her spiritual experience filled
her with renewed joy and zeal.
When Lillie testified of her newfound
experience in her local church, she was
instructed to remain silent and reject the
tongues experience. Yet, Lillie could hard-
ly contain the intensity of God’s Spirit in later while living in Arkansas, her son most of the Tilghman children moved to
her life. She continued to worship with Horace heard God instruct him to return other communities. Generations later the
vibrant emotion and speak in tongues, to Mississippi. He obeyed the leading of Church of God in Mississippi continues to
for which she was eventually dismissed God’s Spirit, safely escaping the 1927 Mis- reap the benefits of Lillie Tilghman’s
from her local church. sissippi River flood that took the lives of tenacity to provide her family with Christ-
Undeterred, Lillie was adamant that many of his neighbors a few months later. ian training as her descendants minister in
her family attend church. She began con- The impact of such firsthand experiences such congregations as Stonefield, Grenada,
structing a small building next to her and Lillie’s spiritual leadership guided Winona, and Meridian (Cornerstone).
house and found a Spirit-filled pastor, their family for generations. For more information about the
J.W. Mullen, willing to conduct services M.S. Lemons observed this intense beginning of the Church of God in Mis-
once a month. Mullen was pastor of faith and devotion while visiting the sissippi and its early pioneers, download
Stonefield Church of God in nearby Cas- Tilghman family in 1914 and commend- a free historical booklet online at www
cilla, where the Church of God was intro- ed Lillie’s determination to provide her .morgantowncog.org/history.
duced to Mississippi in 1909. Between family a place for worship. “This sister
Mullen’s pastoral visits, Lillie’s family sus- dressed a part of the lumber with her own Louis F. Morgan serves as assis-
tained their faith through daily Bible hands and helped in many ways on this tant professor and librarian for
study, singing, and prayers. building,” wrote Lemons. “She just owes Public Service and Learning at
God’s provision was evident among $35 on this nice little church house.” Lee University.
26 EVANGEL • AUG 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38