The 2023 class of the UPCI Order of the Faith includes a longtime missionary couple, a pioneer evangelist, two prominent pastors, and the first Black minister to serve on the UPCI’s Executive Board.
Jim and Martha Burton, Randy Keyes, Claude Paschal “C. P.” Kilgore, J. Ellis Myers, and Trevor Neil were officially inducted into the Order of the Faith during a special banquet held on the eve of General Conference 2023. Family and friends of the inductees were present, as well as members of the UPCI’s General Board. UPCI General Superintendent Dr. David K. Bernard served as master of ceremonies for the event.
Missionary couple Jim (1930-2008) and Martha Burton (1933-present) were inducted due to their longtime service as missionaries in Venezuela. The Burtons arrived in that country with their young family in the early 1960s. At that time, the UPC had just three congregations in the entire nation. A generation later, the UPC in Venezuela has more than fifteen hundred churches, thanks in large part to the Burton’s faithfulness in training pastors and church planters.
Randy G. Keyes (1950-present) became the pastor of a UPC church in Modesto, California, in 1981. Under his leadership, Revival Church, as it later became known, grew to become one of the most influential UPCI congregations on the West Coast and a hub of evangelism and missions work. Keyes eventually became assistant general superintendent of the UPCI’s Western Zone, and he is now an honorary member of the UPCI General Board.
Claude Paschal “C. P.” Kilgore (1888-1959) was an early Oneness Pentecostal evangelist who preached numerous revivals across Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, establishing at least fifteen churches along the way. His revival meetings were marked by signs, wonders, miracles, and many conversions. Records indicate that at least ten thousand people received the Holy Spirit during Kilgore’s forty-four years of ministry, and he baptized approximately that many in Jesus’ name. One of his sons, James Kilgore, also became a noteworthy Pentecostal leader and is a 2002 Order of the Faith inductee.
J. Ellis Myers (1935-present) is a longtime pastor and leader in the Florida District. Myers became the pastor of a small church in Palm Bay in 1971 and, through diligent effort and evangelism, the church became one of the largest UPCI congregations in the state. Myers’ son, David, currently serves as pastor of what is now called Eastwind Pentecostal Church, while the elder Myers holds the title of bishop. The Florida District Board also has named J. Ellis Myers an honorary lifetime member.
Dr. Trevor Neil (1948-2016) was a longtime pastor in northern Alberta, Canada, and the founder of Genesis Institute of Theology, Evangelism, and Leadership, an endorsed UPCI ministry training institution. Dr. Neil also was instrumental in founding the Canadian Plains District, which encompasses the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. He served as both district secretary and district superintendent. In addition, he was the first Black minister to be a member of the UPCI’s Executive Board. He used his influence to bring awareness of the need for greater cultural and ethnic diversity within the UPCI, and he developed training resources to promote this vision.
The Order of the Faith was established in 2002 to recognize leaders who have made significant contributions to the United Pentecostal Church International and the broader Oneness Pentecostal movement. A full biography of each inductee is available at oof.upci.org. A video playlist honoring members of the Order of the Faith is available on the UPCI’s YouTube channel.
Featured image: Phyllis Neil (holding plaque), wife of Dr. Trevor Neil, celebrates her late husband’s induction into the UPCI Order of the Faith with invited guests who were present for the ceremony.
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