The Reverend H.J. Smith, Publisher and Editor of the Herald of Hope, passed away January 1, 1994, in the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, Georgia.
In attendance at his bedside was a young person that The Reverend H.J. Smith had become friends with only a few years earlier, Jeff Fowler, of Norcross, Georgia. The Smith family stands with great love and appreciation for all that Jeff and his family did on behalf of The Reverend H.J. Smith, and his loved ones. May God richly bless you Jeff.
The Reverend H.J. Smith, in the company of his constant companion, and foster son, Tommy Coleman, was on the road doing what he did best, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was in the midst of revisiting some of the areas where he had evangelized as a young itinerant preacher, when he was stricken down by a stroke.
As can be expected, on one hand his children, Vivian, Viola, James, Richard, and Tommy, grieved at his passing, but on the other, are overjoyed that he did not linger in pain and suffering. He has now reunited with his beloved Sarah, whom he missed with such great intensity.
The Reverend H.J. Smith graduated from school in Detroit, Michigan, and went on to pursue a career in professional photography (which became his lifetime hobby) until God saw fit to call him into "His career". He began his lifetime of preaching, in the southeast corner of the United States, in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It was here that he started several fledgling congregations, which still flourish today. Later he moved back to the area of southern Ohio to continue preaching. There he met his wife to be, Sarah.
In 1941, The Reverend H.J. Smith made a drastic move for a mid-eastern boy. He moved to the "Wild West" and became Dean of the Black Hills Bible Institute, located in a former Dude Ranch/Hunting Lodge/Casino, now called the "Flying V Cambria Inn", in Weston County, near Newcastle, Wyoming.
In 1950, The Reverend H.J. Smith ventured into "The Preacher’s Graveyard", Los Angeles, California; a place where his colleagues and students had advised him that no self-respecting pastor would ever allow themselves to be found. Shortly thereafter he joined the Board of Directors of Christ Faith Mission, Inc., and soon became the Managing Director, and Senior Pastor of "Old Pisgah Home & Tabernacle", known locally as "Echo Home". In 1954, he purchased a Christian tabloid newspaper, Herald of Hope, from the ailing, founding publisher, James A. Cheek, for the sum of One Dollar ($1). He also received Brother Cheek’s stern admonishment that the Herald of Hope must never be allowed to die (Or, be fought over by any "would-be editors", after he passed away). The Reverend H.J. Smith acknowledged Brother Cheek’s wish, and agreed to re-dedicate his life to the furtherance of God’s Word, according to the leading and anointing of the Holy Spirit, and to place his emphasis more on reaching the sick and lost through the printed word.
God designed a program, which when fulfilled in the lives of Harold and Sarah Smith, would impact upon hundreds of thousands of wayward souls, through their collective evangelistic ministries, which included the Herald of Hope, a Christian healing periodical, and Herald of Hope’s radio broadcast, appropriately called, Hope For Today. Jointly they proclaimed the Word of God at home, on foreign soil, and in their individual, daily administrative duties at "Old Pisgah Home & Tabernacle".
“Brother” Smith (as he preferred to be called) saw the Herald of Hope as a tool to convey God’s Truth, in salvation and healing, and to bridge the gap caused by misunderstanding and errant theology, that brought individuals to question the need for the atonement through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ.
Now, the Herald of Hope continues to provide a vehicle for God’s Word, to proclaim His grace and unmerited blessing, upon His children. With the guiding Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, the stories and pronouncements contained within the pages of this publication, will continue to soar above the interference and inadequacies of “High-minded” journalism.
The Herald of Hope is “A purveyance of God’s healing touch” and a typographical declaration:
“ GOD’S WILL FOR ALL PEOPLE IS HEALTH AND SALVATION !”
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