Bio

Rev. Verbal Bean was born April 15, 1933, to Alexander and Bernice Bean in Duetts Eddie, LA, as the youngest of four children, with an adopted younger brother added later on.  The family moved to Orange, TX, when Verbal was a teenager, and sat under the ministry of J.H. Stanton.  His hunger for God exhibited itself strong in this young man, and many days after school he would be found under the bed praying.  Sunday afternoons he would go to the church and seek the face of God.After graduating from Orange High School, he and his mother, who was also a strong woman of faith and a preacher, moved to Houston for the work of God.  Bernice established the Greens Bayou church and Bro. Bean established the South Houston church.  After working and laboring in Houston, he felt the call to the evangelistic field, and at the age of 21, embarked on this new journey.

After graduating from Orange High School, he and his mother, who was also a strong woman of faith and a preacher, moved to Houston for the work of God.  Bernice established the Greens Bayou church and Bro. Bean established the South Houston church.  After working and laboring in Houston, he felt the call to the evangelistic field, and at the age of 21, embarked on this new journey.

His strong prayer life carried his ministry to spiritual heights few had seen before.  Rev. Murray Layne, who pastored in California, described Bro. Bean’s daily habits during a revival he preached in Fresno, CA.  Bro. Layne said he could be heard praying in his room in the morning.  At lunch time, he would join the family at the dinner table, then politely excuse himself following the meal to go back to his room.  He would continue praying for several more hours before service.

During those days, revivals would last for weeks, with revival going each night of the week.  Each day, Bro. Bean would seek the mind of God for the service that night.  He would be so committed to finding the mind of God, that he would wait on the Holy Ghost before doing anything.  As a result, the Spirit of God would move mightily as Bro. Bean sang, preached, and operated in the gifts of the Spirit.  His hunger for God overrode every other influence.  He would often call the church to a greater level of holiness and a greater commitment to prayer.  Over the course of his ministry, there were many revivals where more than 100 received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and got baptized in Jesus name!  Pastors have testified, years later, that these revivals changed the church.

In 1967, the call of God led Bro. Bean to Greens Bayou, Houston, TX, to take the church started by his mother, Bernice Bean.  Although there was a small congregation of about 18 people, Bro. Bean and his family began working hard, praying and believing God for revival in Greens Bayou.  Many souls were saved and ministries launched out of the Greens Bayou church.  A small bible school was started, out of which was born the Prayer and Works of the Holy Ghost teaching series.  Ten years later, at his death, the Greens Bayou congregation numbered around 350.

On April 2, 1977, Bro. Bean, his wife Nita, son Joel, and Aunt were on their way back to Houston, visiting a dying Uncle.  Traveling through Starks, LA, on Highway 12, a drunk driver, driving at excessive speeds swerved into their lane hitting them head on.  Bro. Bean was instantly killed.  His Aunt died in the hospital just a couple of weeks later.  His wife, Nita, and son, Joel survived the accident.  Joel suffered a permanent injury to his left arm due to the accident.

Although Bro. Bean was a very spiritual man, he was known to his family as a very loving, kind, and gentle husband and father.  He loved his wife, Nita Kay, and his three children, Jana, Jennifer, and Joel with a strong devotion.  While many did not see this side of him, those who did said that these attributes made his ministry that much more powerful.  How he appeared in the pulpit is how he appeared at home.  He believed strongly in the work of God, family, and God, and was willing to sacrifice for any of these.  No one can explain why God would take this great man of God at such a young age.  Even so, decades after his death, his ministry still impacts Apostolics all across the world.  His life and ministry, now in the hands of God, continue as a memory and a legacy!