John Alexander Dowie - 1847-1907 - preacher and evangelist,  teacher of divine healing, overseer of the Christian Catholic Church, and founder of the city of Zion, Illinois was with little argument the most charismatic, colorful and controversial Christian leader alive at the dawn of the 20th century.  

Reviled by the secular press, derided by many church leaders, and yet loved and respected by believing multitudes, his life and ministry provide valuable lessons for the believer of today.

This web site is being developed to bring to light his rise and his fall, his triumphs and his tragedies.  Although criticism of Dowie's final years of ministry abounds , one cannot lightly dismiss the mighty miracles and testimonies of changed lives that accompanied his many years of teaching and preaching the word of God.  A host of respected Pentecostal pioneers including F.F. Bosworth, Lilian Yeomans, John G. Lake, and Martha Wing Robinson had their roots in Dowie's city of Zion.  (The full testimony of Mrs. Robinson's healing was published in Leaves of Healing in November, 1900 and can be found here.)

Unfortunately, many documents written by Dowie - and many of the books written about him - are out of print and extremely hard to find. If the reader has information or material they could share, please contact the editor at davidkeames@gmail.com. As material becomes available, this web site will be expanded.

Much of the material on this site, including many of the pictures, have been taken from Dowie's weekly publication Leaves of Healing.  Many thanks to Kathie Fette Morales of Bowling Green, Virginia for allowing free acccess to these valuable historical documents.

For those readers unfamilar with Dowie, a brief overview of  his life is offered in the Editor's Notes.  

The remainder of this website is divided into three sections. The first section: The Life of John Alexander Dowie features the complete texts of three different biographies on Dowie. The second section : The Ministry of John Alexander Dowie features many photographs and testimonies of healings taken from Leaves of Healing, Dowie's weekly newspaper. The third section:  The Message of John Alexander Dowie  features sermons and writings of Dowie from Leaves of Healing.

As an extra feature,  a selection of the remarkable full-page cartoons that appeared in Leaves of Healing is presented here.  Click on each cartoon for a larger and clearer image.    

Editor's Notes: an Introduction

Part One: The Life

Part Two: The Ministry

Part Three: The Message

The Cartoons from Leaves of Healing