Kathryn Kuhlman was a woman who believed in miracles. Born on May 9, 1907 in Concordia, Missouri, Kathryn was just fourteen years old when she was born again. Although she came from a denominational background, in her ministry she refused to be a part of any denomination and gave no one but God credit for her ministry.

Kathryn carried with her some strong beliefs. She always said that anyone could experience the operation of the Holy Spirit in one’s life if he was willing to pay the price. She was determined in her life not to allow self-pity, self-hatred and self-indulgence to take hold on her. Kathryn believed that these sins would only stand in the way of the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives. Another belief she always pushed was that we should surrender our lives to Christ and be “dead” to ourselves that He may live through us.

Kathryn Kuhlman began her ministry working with her sister and brother in law with their tent ministries for five years, always preparing herself for her own ministry. A local pastor in Boise, Idaho offered Kathryn her first place to minister from an old pool hall. Soon she began preaching throughout Idaho. She would preach and sleep wherever she could find a place, suitable or not, she made it so. In her, God developed dedication and loyalty to Him and His people. Kathryn would say, “ My heart is fixed. I’ll be loyal to Him at any cost, at any price. Loyalty is much more than a casual interest in someone or something. It’s a personal commitment. In the final analysis, it means, here I am. You can count on me, I won’t fail you.”

Kathryn was a traveling evangelist that did not believe in allowing finances to get in the way of doing the Lord’s work. She ordered up all that she needed to make her healing meetings work, knowing in her heart that God was without limits in His finances. Her people would help her find a building for her meetings and thousands of people would attend for they were hungry for the Word of God, soon she would have to move on to larger buildings due to the enormous crowds.

On May 30, 1935, the Denver Revival Tabernacle opened with a huge neon sign over it that read, “Prayer Changes Things.” Thousands of people from the area would attend her meetings six days a week. After starting the Sunday school program, she added a bus service. Kathryn also began an outreach to prisons and nursing homes and she even went to the media with a radio show called “ Smiling Through”.

For a short time in her life, Kathryn refused to listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading when she fell in love with an evangelist named, Burroughs A. Waltrip. She suffered rejection from others for having a relationship with this man, since he was still married and with two sons when he began his romance with Kathryn. On October 18, 1938 in Mason City, Iowa, the couple secretly married against all concerned advice from those that were close to her. The church was furious with her for not taking this situation seriously as a sin against God. Kathryn lost her church, her close friends and her ministry, even her relationship with God faltered because she put her husband’s desires before her passion for God. It took Kathryn eight years to end this relationship and try to find her way back to the place that God had for her.

It took a lot of hard work and determined faith to restore her ministry. Kuhlman bought a one-way ticket to Franklin, Pennsylvania and never turned back. She began having meetings in the Gospel Tabernacle that seated fifteen hundred. Not long after, she began doing daily radio broadcast in two cities. It was after the end of World War II that Kathryn Kuhlman began to lay hands on people who came for healing. She had no idea that a healing ministry was going to bring her international fame. It wasn’t until she realized in her studying of the Word that healing was provided for the believer as well as salvation.

In 1950, her worldwide ministry was about to begin. The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation, established in Pittsburgh, financed more than twenty churches in foreign mission fields. America was in love with Kathryn Kuhlman and couldn’t wait to hear her voice. Her messages were heard all over the nation and in various places overseas. Even though thousands and thousands of miracles had taken place, Kathryn counted mostly on the miracle of those being born again. Her ministry stands out as one of the leading ministries of the “Charismatic Movement”. For many, Kathryn Kuhlman was special. She made the way for those in our generation to come to know the Holy Spirit. On February 20, 1976, Kuhlman went to be with the Lord, she was sixty-eight years old.