Branham Tabernacle: From Pentecostal Sect to Message Movement
The Branham Tabernacle emerged from the Pentecostal networks of Jeffersonville in the 1930s, closely tied to the ministry of Roy E. Davis and his associates, before William Branham assumed a central role. Over time, the church’s origins were reshaped within Message tradition, particularly after Branham’s 1945 reinvention of his public persona and the renaming of the congregation, creating a retrospective narrative that differs from the documented historical record.
The Branham Tabernacle on the corner of 8th and Penn Streets in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is considered to be the "home church" of the "Message" cult following of William Branham. Though the building was not purchased until 1936 and William Branham was an assistant pastor in Roy E. Davis' Pentecostal church at the time, members of William Branham's cult following are indoctrinated to believe that Branham buried his alleged "1933 prophecies" in the cornerstone of the building.[1] The church was officially named the "Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle" and did not transition to the name "Branham Tabernacle" until Branham re-invented his stage persona in 1945.[2]
The church was initially affiliated with "The Pentecostal Baptist Church of God" sect, a Pentecostal cult established by white supremacy leader Roy E. Davis whose headquarters was in Jeffersonville. Roy, along with his brothers Dan and W. L. Davis, held a Pentecostal Revival celebrating the establishment of the sect[3] and began attempting to win converts in Jeffersonville to Pentecostalism. Shortly after the revival, Dan began holding services on Mechanic Street winning converts to the Pentecostal faith under the first name of his church, the "First Pentecostal Church",[4] though Dan claimed it was "not affiliated in any way with the Pentecostal Baptist Church".[5] Dan advertised that "true Pentecost is here to stay."[6]
In 1933 while William Branham was still a minister in Roy Davis' Pentecostal sect, Dan began holding revivals at the arbor that his Pentecostal church owned[7] on the corner of 8th street and Graham Streets in Jeffersonville.[8] Handicraft meetings were held at the home of Mrs. Charlie Kerns,[9] where William Branham held his services[10] years later as Davis' Pentecostal Baptist Church of God sect transitioned to the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle. Before the ground was purchased on Eighth and Penn streets for the Billy Branham Tabernacle, Branham's Tabernacle was located at Dan Davis' Arbor on Eighth and Graham street.[11] It is this year that Branham's cult following are indoctrinated to believe that the "Branham Tabernacle" was dedicated.
In 1945 as William Branham rebranded himself as a "Baptist minister unfamiliar with Pentecostalism"[12] and began using the version of the stage persona described in his tract, "I Was Not Disobedient to the Heavenly Vision", the church was renamed from "Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle" to "Branham Tabernacle".[13] The early church had a pentagram above its door instead of the eagle and sword which is displayed today.