The Elton Bible Conference Heritage Site marks the location associated with one of the most influential gatherings in early twentieth-century Pentecostal history in Louisiana. In December 1915, ministers and believers met in Elton for an extended Bible conference to pray, search the Scriptures, and settle growing questions about water baptism and the identity of Jesus Christ. Their decisions at this meeting reshaped the doctrine and practice of many congregations across Louisiana and beyond.

Background: Early Pentecostalism and the “Oneness” Message

Pentecostal revivals reached Louisiana in the first decade of the 1900s, bringing strong emphasis on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and holiness of life. By 1915 there were only about seven established Pentecostal churches in the state, but the movement was growing rapidly.

At the same time, a new doctrinal controversy was spreading among Pentecostals across North America. Preachers and laypeople were re-examining New Testament teaching on the Godhead and baptism. Many became convinced that the earliest Christians baptized converts “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and that Jesus is the full and visible revelation of the one God. This “Jesus’ Name” or “Oneness” message was being preached in Canada, the northern United States, Texas, and Louisiana, often provoking intense debate.

The 1915 Elton Bible Conference

To address these issues, Louisiana ministers and believers called a Bible conference in the town of Elton in December 1915. According to later district histories, the purpose of the meeting was to pray, examine Scripture together, and “lay the controversy to rest” by obeying whatever they found in the New Testament, not simply defending tradition.

The conference stretched through the Christmas season. Harvey Shearer served as chairman. Influential ministers such as Oliver F. Fauss and Robert L. LaFleur were present, along with many other workers from Louisiana and East Texas

On December 19, 1915, the first full message on water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ was preached at the Elton Bible Conference. Contemporary accounts describe it as a turning point: ministers who had been wrestling privately with the Scriptures became fully persuaded that baptism should be administered in the name of Jesus Christ in accordance with Acts 2:38 and related passages.

Baptisms at Powell’s Lake

That same day, a group of ministers and workers traveled from the conference grounds to a nearby body of water later identified in local histories as Powell’s Lake, about two miles north of Elton. There, Shearer entered the water and baptized a line of gospel workers and ministers “in the name of Jesus,” including O. F. Fauss and R. L. LaFleur. One widely cited account recalls thirteen ministers and workers being baptized in this first service, which opened the way for continuous baptisms throughout the remainder of the conference.

A local history of Elton preserves the community’s memory of the same events. It records that during a 1915 Bible study conference in Elton, the worshipers came to believe they should follow “the Apostle’s form of Baptism,” and that approximately one hundred Pentecostals were baptized by immersion at Powell’s Lake. That book notes this as the first such recorded event of its kind in the United States.

From that point until the conference closed near the end of December, reports describe “baptismal services night and day” as increasing numbers of ministers and believers chose to be baptized in Jesus’ name. One influential later summary concluded that every minister and gospel worker at the conference, with a single exception, was baptized in the name of Jesus either during the meeting or shortly afterward.

Key Figures

Several leaders who helped shape Louisiana Pentecostalism were closely tied to the Elton Bible Conference:

Harvey Shearer – Camp chairman and one of the earliest Louisiana ministers to openly embrace Jesus-name baptism; he preached and baptized at Elton and in earlier meetings in Texas.

Oliver F. Fauss – Later a major voice in the Oneness movement, he was among the thirteen ministers baptized at Powell’s Lake during the conference and went on to publish influential materials advocating the message.

Robert L. LaFleur – Remembered as a pioneer of Louisiana Pentecostalism, LaFleur had already baptized scores of believers in Jesus’ name in DeQuincy by October 1915, even before he himself was rebaptized at Elton on December 19. A 1964 memorial article in The Louisiana Challenger describes walking into the water with him at Elton and notes that dozens were baptized in the name of Jesus that day.

Howard A. Goss – Later the first general superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, Goss arrived at the Elton conference on December 30 and preached on “Jehovah, the Most Wonderful Name,” reinforcing the revelation of the mighty God in Christ that many ministers were receiving.

These and other workers carried the message from Elton into their home congregations and evangelistic fields across Louisiana and East Texas.

Impact on Louisiana and Beyond

The immediate aftermath of the Elton Bible Conference was a wave of baptisms and doctrinal realignment. Histories of the period observe that nearly every Pentecostal church in northwestern Louisiana and much of eastern Texas conducted Jesus-name baptisms in the months following the meeting, with numbers ranging from a few individuals to scores in a single service.

What had begun with only a small number of Pentecostal congregations in Louisiana quickly expanded. By 1926, roughly a decade after the Elton conference, the number of churches in the state had grown from about seven to around twelve, and by 1947 records show seventy-four churches in the Louisiana District. The United Pentecostal Church’s Louisiana District, which traces its doctrinal roots to the Elton Bible Conference, has since grown to more than 300 churches and nearly 800 ministers, becoming the largest district in North America.

Within Oneness and Apostolic Pentecostal circles, the Elton Bible Conference is remembered as the moment when Louisiana ministers collectively embraced baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and a clear confession of the oneness of God in Christ. Later writers have called the conference a “high point” in early Louisiana and East Texas Pentecostal history, a meeting that “set the whole country afire” with renewed attention to Jesus’ name baptism and the Oneness understanding of the Godhead.

Local Memory and the Town of Elton

The events of 1915 are not only preserved in denominational histories but also in the civic memory of Elton itself. A Town Named Elton by Joanne Foley Putnam briefly recounts the story of the conference and the mass baptisms at Powell’s Lake, locating them within the broader development of early Pentecostal churches in the Elton and Soileau area. The book records that earlier Pentecostal services had been held in a brush arbor near Soileau and at camp-meeting grounds near Elton, but highlights the 1915 conference and baptisms as a unique milestone in both local and national religious history.

Significance of the Heritage Site Today

Today, the Elton Bible Conference Heritage Site at 1002 Main Street stands as a memorial to:

The 1915 decision by Louisiana ministers and believers to follow their understanding of the New Testament pattern of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.

The early public embrace of the Oneness doctrine that “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,” which became foundational for later Oneness Pentecostal fellowships.

The role of a small rural community in shaping the religious identity of thousands of believers across Louisiana, North America, and the wider world.

The heritage site, together with the planned historical marker, preserves this story for future generations and acknowledges Elton’s unique place in the history of modern Pentecostalism and the continuing practice of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.