“You are a fool and you will starve to death,” objected family members when Martin Luther (M.L.) Hollis (above, left) told his folks he had quit his job and asked for license to preach. “You don’t have enough education to preach,” they further opined.
True, the 17-year-old saw mill worker had only completed eight years of schooling, but God had called him to preach. For several years, he fought the calling. But, it became so intense he could put it off no longer. He determined to preach if the whole world laughed him to scorn.
Hollis was licensed to preach in June 1918. He began holding services and revivals, but somehow he just couldn’t shake the conviction God wanted him to finish school. He tried several ways to get the money to further his education, but each time the door closed.
Finally, Damascus FWB Church near Meridian, Mississippi, asked the young man to come to the church for a revival. Meridian seemed halfway around the world to Martin, since he had never been far from his home in Vernon, Alabama. Yet, he realized the call came from the Lord.
He soon found himself standing on the train depot in Meridian, waiting to be met by two men from the church. However, the men mistook Martin for a young boy, and they left without the evangelist! Hollis finally managed to get to the church, just in time for the service. As he walked to the pulpit, an elderly man with a beard to his belt said, loudly enough for the frightened 17-year-old to hear, “If that is our chance for a preacher, we are out!”
But God hadn’t struck out. At the close of the revival, the church offered to call the young preacher to pastor the church, and to pay his expenses while he finished school. So, Mr. Hollis started back to school in the ninth grade. He finished high school with honors, graduating second in his class.
Damascus Church then sent Martin to Beason Junior College in Meridian for two years. Several years later, in 1927, Hollis received a scholarship from the John D. Rockefeller Foundation to attend Vanderbilt School of Religion in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended six weeks a year for four years and later went to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois.
After God had called and prepared this young man, He began to open doors of service. Following a five-year ministry at the Damascus Church, Hollis accepted the pastorate of five country churches in Alabama for four years. In 1927, he moved to a full time church in Bryan, Texas. Then, he returned to Red Bay, Alabama, in 1929, where he pastored for 21 years.
However, during these fruitful years he also had the responsibility of ministering simultaneously in five to eleven other churches, and preaching five to six sermons every weekend. How physically taxing it must have been to maintain the heavy preaching schedule on a typical weekend during these years!
God laid still another burden on the heart of His servant. Many areas had no Free Will Baptist churches, so Hollis began to do extensive evangelistic work and to organize churches. He would go into an area, many times without an invitation, put up a tent, and announce revival services. At the conclusion of each revival, he baptized converts and organized them into a church. After the infant church was started, he would continue to serve as its pastor in addition to the churches he was already serving.
Many times, the new church would have services Saturday night, early Sunday morning, or Sunday afternoon to enable Brother Hollis to meet all his preaching obligations. He would continue to do this until the church was ready to go full time. This story was repeated at least 24 times as Hollis established at least that many Free Will Baptist churches, the largest number of churches organized by any contemporary Free Will Baptist minister. Because of this church planting ability and dedication, Hollis was elected as the first chairman of the National Home Missions Board in 1938.
Not only is Mr. Hollis known for his pastoral and organizational work, but he also was one of the most widely used evangelists in Free Will Baptist history. Whether the revival was held in brush-arbors, tents, churches, or auditoriums, God blessed the revival work of M. L. Hollis.
One of the best remembered revivals in the evangelist’s ministry was held at Pearce Chapel FWB Church in Smithville, Mississippi. At the close of the meeting, 78 converts were baptized. Because of this large number, several hundred people gathered at the river to watch. Many doubted the short evangelist could accomplish the strenuous task by himself. However, he not only baptized all 78, but he did it in exactly 32 minutes!
Churches deeply appreciated the powerful delivery of God’s Word from Hollis, and many called Mr. Hollis again and again as evangelist. The Damascus Church, his first pastorate, hosted him in revival 33 times.
Hollis’ ministry spans 55 years, with his longest tenure being 35 years at Pearce Chapel. During his later years, one of the highlights of his ministry was visiting the Holy Land. Though in his 70s, he thrilled to see the area where many biblical prophecies have and will be fulfilled.
It is impossible to know the impact this dynamic and dedicated preacher had on the Lord’s work. He once gave a numerical summary of his work:
“I have organized 24 churches, held revivals in 23 states, baptized more than 6,000 converts, received into Free Will Baptist churches over 10,000 members, married numerous couples and averaged conducting over 100 funerals a year.”
Into his mid-70s, Hollis and his wife drove more than 200 miles every other weekend to the Damascus Church in Meridian, where he continued pastoring on a part-time basis. He conducted numerous revivals and funerals as long as his health allowed.
The National Association of Free Will Baptists is certainly grateful for the incredible contributions of this saintly Free Will Baptist pioneer.
About the Writer: Sandra Hudson and her husband, evangelist Van Dale Hudson, traveled the denomination for many decades, ministering through revivals. She is an alumnus of Welch College. Adapted from the December 1977 issue of Contact magazine.
