This Week in AG History -- Jan. 24, 1971

Robert Louis (R.L.) Brandt (1917-2007), born on a small farm in North Dakota, became a prominent preacher, teacher, evangelist, author, and leader within the Assemblies of God. His legacy is marked by his wisdom in navigating difficult decisions and his deep commitment to seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer. These qualities made him an invaluable asset to the Fellowship he loved.

Brandt was born in 1917 and experienced his conversion in 1933 under the ministry of Donald Gee at Lake Geneva Bible Camp in Minnesota. Encouraged to seek more of God, he began attending small prayer meetings in homes around Egeland, North Dakota. These gatherings included Bible study, robust singing, and focused prayer, during which two elderly women prayed him through to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Around the same time, Brandt felt a strong conviction that he was called to the ministry.

After graduating from high school, Brandt enrolled in North Central Bible Institute (now North Central University) in Minneapolis. Upon graduation, he returned home to find the Pentecostals around Egeland in disarray following a church split caused by an independent evangelist. Brandt had only recently received his preaching license with the North Dakota District of the Assemblies of God, when the evangelist sought to recruit him into his growing movement, offering him the opportunity to speak on a radio broadcast. Though many encouraged him to accept the offer, Brandt chose to remain with the Assemblies of God — a decision that would benefit both him and the Fellowship.

In 1939, Brandt began his ministry in Stanley, North Dakota, and in 1940, he married Marian Williams, a young woman from the early prayer groups in Egeland. One month later, he was ordained by Assistant General Superintendent Fred Vogler at Lakewood Bible Camp in Devils Lake, North Dakota. The couple remained in Stanley for six years, planting a strong church on nearly debt-free property, before accepting the pastorate of the Assembly of God in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

In Grand Forks, the Brandts lived in a parsonage in the rear of the church, converting every room into Sunday school classrooms. The need for a larger building soon became evident. Four years later, they dedicated a new church building, seating 250 with a full basement and balcony. The growth of both churches in Stanley and Grand Forks brought him to the attention of other ministers, and Brandt was elected as the second superintendent of the North Dakota District of the Assemblies of God when Herman Johnson left that position.

Shortly before Brandt’s appointment as district superintendent, the idea of starting a Bible school in North Dakota was proposed. Brandt initially opposed the idea, believing the district was too small to support it and that it was too close to North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. When the district council approved the proposal, Brandt wrestled with his disapproval until, through prayer, he felt a change in his spirit. He embraced the idea and later became president of the new school, known as Lakewood Park Bible School (now Trinity Bible College and Graduate School in Ellendale, North Dakota), when he assumed the role of district superintendent.

In 1958, Brandt was called to Springfield, Missouri, to lead the Home Missions Department of the Assemblies of God. His focus was on training church planters and encouraging existing churches to support those new church plants. During this time, he also discovered a talent for writing. His first book, Praying with Paul, emerged from his personal practice of praying the prayers found in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Brandt went on to write 11 more books and numerous articles for the Pentecostal Evangel, including “Corinth’s Dangerous Sin” in the Jan. 24, 1971, issue, which discussed the importance of church unity in the context of the Lord’s Supper.

After seven years in Springfield, Brandt returned to pastoral ministry, taking the pulpit at First Assembly of God in Billings, Montana. Within a few years, he was elected assistant superintendent of the Montana District. After four years, Brandt felt in his spirit that his time in Billings was coming to an end. He notified his superintendent, Earl Goodman, that his resignation as pastor would also include his resignation as assistant superintendent. However, shortly thereafter, Goodman tragically died in a boating accident, and Brandt found himself stepping into the role of district superintendent in Montana, a position he held for 13 years.

In his retirement, Brandt traveled globally, preaching and encouraging missionaries. He also served the Assemblies of God as an executive presbyter and a board member for North Central University, Central Indian Bible College, and Northwest University. Brandt passed away in 2007 at the age of 90 after suffering a stroke.

Robert L. Brandt is remembered as a man who was willing to hear God and to follow wherever the Spirit might lead.

Read the article, “Corinth’s Dangerous Sin,” on page 2 of the Jan. 24, 1971, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Communion of the Holy Spirit,” by Lewi Pethrus

• “Ninth Pentecostal World Conference”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.