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Tuesday 30 December 2008

A tribute to Edie Iverson (1931 - 2008)

by Steven Ganz

I first met Edie Iverson in 1972 at a church called Bible Temple in Portland, Oregon. Although her husband pastored the 500-member church, her influence was unmistakeable and everywhere.

Sister Edie, as she was known, would lead worship with enthusiasm. She was not a good singer, but
Edie Iverson
her love of Jesus was so obvious that we in the congregation could care less and followed her as she led us in honoring God with all our hearts.

In all the years I knew her, I never once heard her complain or say something unkind about anyone. Although she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, she never made it an issue.

Her mother, Sister Swanson, was a Scandinavian woman with a true gift of faith, who never made any allowance for doubt. Edie was out of the same mold, but had learned to be compassionate towards those of us who wrestled with doubt. Edie, if I remember correctly, was going to the Bible School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada when the Latter Rain Revival started. Through this revival she became involved in the prophetic and in the 'song of the Lord' as it was then called.

She and her husband, K. R. 'Dick' Iverson, were a doctrinally-balanced eye in the midst of that prophetic storm. Sister Edie could always be counted on to see the issues from the position of faith informed by love. Her passion and zeal for the Lord never waned. They led Bible Temple for 44 years, from a church of just a few families (known at first as Deliverance Temple), through several building projects, until it became a church of several thousand. Though the church became so large, she was always a mother to each of us. Even after the Lord had led my wife and I to go to other places, Sister Edie would always remember us and our kids.
Steve and Malana Ganz

I will remember her until 'that day.'

[Steve and Malana Ganz have served as missionaries in places like Panama and Kamchatka, Russia. Currently, Steve is the pastor of Clover Pass Community Church in Ketchikan, Alaska.]




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