Hyman Appelman
1902 - 1983

"The all-pervading, all-controlling, all-achieving Holy Spirit is the only Source of power. It is not in our schools, not in our churches, not in our organizations. It is not in our separation, not in our busyness, not in our attractions. It is not in our programs. It is solely the Holy Spirit who gives this power to do exploits for God, to promote the interests of God's kingdom, to overcome Satan, to win the lost. There is no separating of spiritual power from the Holy Spirit. It is not power; it is the Holy Spirit. You cannot have power without the Holy Spirit. You cannot have the Holy Spirit without being flooded by Heaven's power."

Dr. Appelman was born in Russia and was reared and trained in the Jewish faith. He could speak many languages. The family moved to America in 1914. Dr. Appelman graduated with honors from Northwestern University and from DePaul University where he was one of the highest in the class and was awarded a scholarship.

He received his license to practice law from DePaul Law School and was a trial lawyer in Chicago before his conversion-from 1921-25. At age 28 he was converted. His Jewish family, then living in Chicago, disowned him. His father said to him, "When your sides come together from hunger, and you come crawling to my door, I will throw you a crust of bread as I would any other dog."

Feeling a definite call to preach, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth from 1930-33. In 1933 he was elected to be one of the State Evangelists for Texas; he faithfully ministered for eight years in this capacity for the Southern Baptist Convention. Later he launched into larger meetings both in Texas and across the country. He soon was spending some time, year after year, in a foreign country.

His meetings were large meetings, with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of conversions in each. Dr. Appelman made eight or nine trips around the world and several trips to Russia as an evangelist. His schedule left one breathless. It was hard to find a day in his long ministry of fifty-three years that he was not preaching somewhere. He averaged two weeks at home out of a year. That was the intenseness of a Jew! Of this Jew, at least! His prayer life, hard work and biblical preaching reminded one of the Apostle Paul. Dr. Appelman was the author of some 40 books.