This Week in AG History -- April 2, 1967

Emil Balliet was a talented evangelist, pastor, teacher, author, and administrator, who held many important leadership positions in the Assemblies of God.

Emil Alexander Balliet (1911-1977) was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in San Francisco. His parents, George and Lydia Balliet, attended the 1922 Aimee Semple McPherson meetings in the Coliseum in San Francisco, which seated 10,000 people. A number of people were healed at these meetings, and there was a feeling of expectancy for more of the Holy Spirit.

The Balliet family had been part of a more formal church, but after the McPherson meetings they began attending Robert and Mary Craig’s Glad Tidings Temple. Emil Balliet was saved in a children’s meeting at Glad Tidings. All of the family was saved and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit while attending this church.

Emil Balliet and Gladys Arnesen, who later became his wife, met when they were teenagers at the church. The Arnesen family had also been profoundly influenced by the McPherson meetings, and Gladys’ sister, who had a doctor’s report that she was totally deaf and nothing could be done for her, was prayed for at the meetings, and God healed her. This revolutionized the Arnesen family and their faith.

Emil Balliet and Gladys Arnesen became better acquainted through regular church events, and both were musically gifted. Arnesen accompanied Balliet on the piano at his first violin recital. Feeling called into ministry, they both attended Glad Tidings Bible Institute (later Bethany University).

After graduation from Glad Tidings, Balliet traveled with Dr. J.N. Hoover, who was looking for an assistant. For the next two years they traveled, holding evangelistic services in churches in the United States and Canada. Balliet served as music director, playing his violin and singing as well as developing preaching skills. While traveling with Hoover, it is reported that at one service they encountered a man who was demon possessed. Hoover held onto his head while Balliet and four other strong men held him by the arms and legs as the rebuked the demon in the name of Jesus Christ and commanded him to come out of the man. The man was marvelously delivered after their prayer.

Balliet was ordained in 1932 with the Northern California-Nevada District of the Assemblies of God, and he married Arnesen later that year. They had four children.

It seemed that every few years, Balliet was led into a different path of ministry. He pastored the Alexandria Assembly of God (Alexandria, Minnesota) from 1932-1933, and Fergus Falls Assembly of God (Fergus Falls, Minnesota) from 1933-1935. From 1935-1947, he served as the district secretary of the North Central District and the dean and head of the music department at North Central Bible College (now North Central University). While serving as dean at the college, he was “highly respected and loved for the desire which he stimulates in each student’s heart to be more like the Master.” He also was an instructor in New Testament, Typology, and Homiletics.

Balliet was a songwriter, violinist, and pianist. Two of his compositions include “Christ is the Answer” and “Broken For You.” In their ministry, many times the Balliets would play a piano and violin duet together.

While directing the music department at North Central Bible Institute, Balliet said, “Music has played a big part in our Pentecostal work ... Music never meant as much to me as when I came into Pentecost, because it brought something real which the Holy Spirit can give you.” Later, while living in Springfield, Missouri, Balliet composed the “C.A. March” which was used for many years by the Christ’s Ambassadors Department.

From 1947-1952, Balliet served as assistant district superintendent of the Southern Missouri District and pastor of Central Assembly of God (Springfield). Attendance at the church reached 1,100 under his leadership. Balliet also witnessed the healing of a member, Esther Whetsten, who was healed of tuberculosis during a Lorne Fox meeting held in Springfield. Balliet had called for an ambulance to bring her to the service. He also served for a time as the administrative assistant in the Foreign Missions Department. In these capacities, he ministered directly with the executive leadership of the Assemblies of God and many others in leadership roles.

While pastoring North Hollywood Assembly of God in California from 1952-1958, he also served as a member of the Foreign Missions Board for the Assemblies of God. In 1953, North Hollywood Assembly was second place in total missions giving for the Assemblies of God.

In 1957, he was honored to present the new Melodies of Praise hymnal to the General Council floor. At North Hollowood Assembly, the church saw growth under Balliet’s leadership, and he also hosted a TV program every Sunday afternoon. From 1959-1970, he pastored First Assembly of God in San Diego.

From 1970-1975, Balliet served as president of Southern California College (SCC) in Costa Mesa, California (now Vanguard University). As president of SCC, he sought to strengthen the relationship between the college and its constituency. He initiated plans for an administration building to face Fair Drive, and a master campus plan was designed.

Balliet was a prolific writer. He wrote a history of the Southern California District for their 50th anniversary in 1970, for which he did personal interviews with notable leaders such as Willard C. Peirce, J. Roswell Flower, A.G. Osterberg, and L.E. Halvorson.

Balliet also wrote a 13-lesson Sunday School quarterly on the Book of Acts. Quite a number of his articles appeared in the C.A. Herald and the Pentecostal Evangel, including a series of articles on great hymns of the faith and on important topics such as Communion, baptism, and weddings.

While pastoring Central Assembly in Springfield, Balliet was chairman of the Radio Committee of the Assemblies of God. He was a speaker on Sermons in Song and assisted in the formation of the Revivaltime radio ministry, serving as a narrator for the nationwide broadcast. He also traveled for ministry in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa at various times, plus Japan and Micronesia for teaching opportunities.

Balliet had an impressive educational background. In addition to Glad Tidings Bible Institute, he attended the University of Minnesota, Central Bible Institute, and the United States International University in San Diego. He held a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, a B.A. in Bible and Theology, and an M.A. in Education.

Teaching, administration, and preaching were his areas of specialty, but Emil Balliet’s ministry, which spanned 45 years, encompassed a variety of roles and experiences which endeared him to students, parishioners, and also the Revivaltime audience. His was privileged to minister in nearly every district of the Assemblies of God in the United States and in Canada, as well as several countries of the world. Willard Cantelon said of Balliet, “His life was his greatest and most eloquent sermon.”

Read Emil Balliet’s article, “Go Deeper with God,” on pages 2-3 of the April 2, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Believing and Receiving the Spirit,” by Willard T. Cantelon

• “God Satisfied Their Hunger,” by E.S. Caldwell

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

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