TESTIMONIES OF FAITH 40 Years of Revival Center Ministry

from THE NEWSVINE, SPRING 2021

The Newsvine Salutes Bishop Randy and Sister Sharon Keyes

(EDITOR”S NOTE: What better way to celebrate Bishop Randy Keyes 40 years of tenure as active pastor then emeritus bishop by sharing with our faithful readers his and Sister Sharon Keyes’ testimonies of how God’s divine plan brought them to Modesto. Many of our members, new converts and the younger generation, have never had the blessing of reading their testimonies. The last rendition in the Newsvine was decades ago. Now is the time to read their dynamic testimonies of faith again and be inspired!)

YOUNG SISTER SHARON KEYES

Sister Sharon Keyes was born on January 3, 1952, to Harold and June Langford in the Southern California town of Van Nuys. She was the middle child with an older brother named Dennis and a younger sister named Christine. As long as she can remember, Sister Keyes’ family has always been Oneness Pentecostal. Her family attended Truth Tabernacle in Los Angeles, pastored by her grandfather, Brother Sherman Langford. Her grandfather originally came from Mena, Arkansas. They migrated to California in the 1930s. Sister Keyes’ family then moved to the San Fernando Valley where she attended Garden Grove Elementary School. Her father, who was a general contractor, had the family attend a small church in Culver City. She remembers sleeping under the pews. During this time the family moved back and forth between California and the family compound in Shreveport, Louisiana. There the old home site had 400 acres in Elm Grove. The farmhouse was like a retreat for all the Langford family members. At the age of nine years, Sister Keyes attended the youth camp at Frasier Park. There she became convicted of her need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. Within a moment’s time, she and many of her young friends received this great experience. It was an incredible feeling that she will never forget. A week later, Sister Keyes was baptized by her uncle, Brother Delbert Langford, back in Truth Tabernacle. When she was a freshman in high school, her father moved her family back to Elm Grove, Louisiana. She started attending Bossier City High School where she had a lot of problems being accepted by the students due to her standards. She was set apart by her schoolmates because of her long, Apostolic hair and no make-up. She began to experience severe harassment on the school bus. There were several boys who taunted her. One boy in particular became violent with her. It became such a nightmare to Sister Keyes that she dreaded going to school each day. Fortunately, the bus driver was on her side and watched out for her. But one day, the bully grabbed her by the hair and pulled her completely out of the bus seat, knocking her down to the floor. He was disciplined by the bus driver and the school authorities, but even so, Sister Keyes remained frightened and expected retaliation. Her parents temporarily solved the problem by allowing her to drive to school in the beginning of her junior year. Still unhappy, Sister Keyes finally asked if she could go to a Christian high school. The Langfords knew the Haney family in Stockton quite well, and they made plans for her to attend the Apostolic high school. Sister Lois Siebold (McDonald) was the dean of the girl’s dorm. Sister Keyes’ roommate was Sister Nancy Jorgensen Grandquist). She had to make

**Bishop Randy G. Keyes and Sister Sharon Keyes**

a big adjustment when she entered the school at midterm. She missed her family who had moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they were attending Brother Wesson’s church. Her life was about to make a major change when in her senior year, Sister Keyes saw a young man preach on Tuesday Jubilee night. She thought he was very cute and a fine preacher. She found out that his name was Brother Randy G. Keyes from the Fresno area. She was determined to get to know him.

YOUNG BROTHER RANDY KEYES

Brother Randy G. Keyes was born in Fresno, California, on October 7, 1950. His family attended the church in Kerman, but the pastor before Brother Keyes was born went “latter rain,” which was a more liberal movement. His parents, along with a handful of other saints, decided to form their own United Pentecostal Church. It was during this time that Brother Keyes was born to Isaac and Bonnie Keyes. He has an older brother, Rick Keyes, who pastored the church in Santa Maria and was the sectional Presbyter. In the first months of life, Brother Keyes could not eat. He could not keep anything down. His concerned parents took him to the doctor who could not discover the cause of his malady. His mother spent hours feeding him. They were sent to all kinds of specialists who made only one confirmation--he was dying. He constantly vomited up his food. If it was not for his mother who made sure that some of his food did not come up, he would have died the first year of his life. Being that they had no pastor yet, they had no one to pray for their son. They became desperate and took the child to the church building which was newly completed at that time. They cried out to God to heal their son. Brother and Sister Keyes felt the power of God. When they took the young child back home and Sister Keyes fed her son, nothing came upj! She cried out to her husband who also witnessed the little boy gobble his food down. They instantly knew that their precious son had been healed. Soon afterwards, he began to crawl and to walk. He was now a healthy toddler. Doctors wanted him back for more tests to determine why he was now well, but Sister Keyes said no. As Brother Keyes began to grow up, he remembers one beautiful memory from his first four years of life. He knew his father prayed every morning, kneeling by his chair in the living room. Brother Keyes remembers waking up in the morning, hearing his father praying in the next room, and then going there in his pajamas to stand near his father and listen to him pray. Even though he did not understand what his father was doing, he felt a beautiful peace just standing there. Elder Brother Keyes would sometimes lay his hands on his son and continue praying. Brother Keyes knows that his father kept up his prayer time every morning of his life until Alzheimer’s disabled him. When Brother Keyes was five years old, he became convicted of baptism. He understood that the blood of Jesus Christ must be applied to his life so that his sins would be washed away. After convincing his parents and Pastor Odell Cagle, he was baptized in the San Joaquin River. He remembers his boyhood being a perfect situation. In the pleasant neighborhood in which he lived, his home was a modest one, but full of love. His father was a barber and his mother, a homemaker. School was fun for Brother Keyes. He often seemed to be “teacher’s pet,” and he averaged a 3.75 grade point average or higher. Only at times did he feel embarrassed and uncomfortable that his friends noticed he had no television. He also had to respect his parents’ standard, which meant at times he could not participate in other children’s activities. His parents were faithful to the house of God and expected their children to do likewise. His dad was an outdoors man who taught the young Brother Keyes to hunt and fish. Brother Keyes also liked baseball and played the game as much as possible. He remembers his family having family altars every night of his life. Even on vacation, his father would take the Sunday school quarterlies and use them for the family altar. There was a character flaw that Brother Keyes felt was uncontrollable about himself. He had a very bad temper. He remembers he gave his older brother a hard time. He also had an adversary in the school named Larry Leister, whom he fought with more than once. He remembers one time pinning Larry down and placing his knees on his shoulders. He knew this was the perfect opportunity to slug Larry in the face, but he spared him and allowed him to get up. No sooner had he done this, Larry Leister slugged him, giving him a black eye. When Brother Keyes got home, his parents let him know that they did not approve of his fighting.

**Bishop Randy Keyes with Brother Rick and parents Bonnie and Isaac Keyes**

Soon afterwards the church appointed Albert Cagle as their new pastor. During this time, the church congregation began to grow. Brother Nathan Wilson, who pastors in Sacramento, was the youth leader at the time. At the age of 11, the church was having excellent services where the power of God was manifested in wonderful ways. One night, Brother Keyes felt the need to pray and seek for the Holy Ghost. He knew several, including his parents and Brother Wilson, were praying for him. Suddenly, Brother Keyes felt a supernatural infilling. He began to speak in other tongues, and he saw like a vision the cloven tongues as of fire. He knows that the Holy Ghost changed him, because he had better control of his temper after that. As he entered his teen years, he struggled with the thought that his baptism at age five was not bona fide. Pastor Cagle told him to lay aside these doubts by being re-baptized. Brother Keyes was baptized again in the wonderful name of Jesus at the age of 13. During his junior high and high school years, at his parents’ allowance he was old enough to make his own decision, Brother Keyes chose to try out for the baseball team. He played second base. In his sophomore year, he was asked to play varsity. He would be lettered before any other sophomore athlete in school. He also was maintaining an A average at the time. However, when he entered the spring season of his sophomore year, his spirit was grieved because of the atmosphere he felt in the locker rooms and dugout. His teammates said off-colored jokes, and he was expected to laugh and join in the fun. Some of his teammates called him the “preacher” and the “holy roller.” He resented the ones who scoffed him. He was not enjoying playing baseball. He came home one day and began to pray. He recommitted himself to God, and he knew the Lord was dealing with him to quit. He called his baseball coach, Bill Stephens and told him, “This is Randy. I’m not going to be back.” The coach asked him, “Why?” Brother Keyes told him that is was conflicting with his church. He was surprised that the coach did not harass him, but allowed him to resign, even though he was losing an all-star player. A few weeks after he made his call to his coach, Brother Keyes was moved to linger after church service. He stayed in the sanctuary after midnight praying alone. During that night, he received a vision. He saw a wide expanse of a field of grain disappearing into the horizon. It was ripe for harvest. He would see the same vision 15 years later. He knew that the Lord was calling him for the ministry. Shortly after that, he succeeded his brother as youth leader. On Friday night he began to preach. At first he was timid, but then he allowed the anointing of God to take over. In his junior and senior year, he continued to maintain an “A” average and became a life member of the California Scholarship Federation. In his college entrance exam he ranked in the top two percent of the state.

BIBLE COLLEGE

His counselor wanted him to apply to a pre-med school, and Brother Keyes was considering the University of Texas where he would eventually study at the Debakey Heart Center in Houston, Texas. He asked the Lord for guidance, and one day he applied for the Sheaves for Christ Scholarship. Only one student was selected every year to receive a scholarship to a Bible college of their choice. Before he graduated, a telegram came from the General Conqueror’s President announcing that he had won the scholarship. Brother Keyes knew then that he would be attending the Western Apostolic Bible College, now Christian Life College, in Stockton. Brother Keyes left for Bible college early in the summer. He described himself as 6 feet tall and a skinny 140 pounds. But he was always careful about dress and grooming. He appreciated that Elder Kenneth Haney took him under his wing. He allowed him to preach the first jubilee service in September. Brother Keyes remembers that he was still 17 years old when he appeared before the sectional board to apply for his ministerial license. He went under Brother Kenneth Haney’s recommendation. He remembers Brother Sam White asking him in front of the other ministers, “Brother Randy, don't’ you know that you have to be 18 years old to apply?” Brother Sam Cagle then broke in and said, “He may be 17, Brother White, but he has been coming to church for 18 years. His mother was faithful when she carried him.” They gave him his license that day. While at Bible school, Brother Keyes remembers doing work duty for Brother Leo Gomez in the kitchen. One day he went to the library to study. He noticed a young girl vacuuming the carpet. He claims she bumped his chair intentionally. He looked up and the young girl said, “Hi.” He was immediately attracted to her and found out that her name was Sister Sharon Langford. They began to see each other throughout the year, and then Sister Sharon Keyes graduated from the high school. When she returned for her freshman year, Brother Keyes asked her to marry him.

They were engaged for one year and were then married in Truth Tabernacle on June 1, 1970, by her uncle Pastor Delbert Langford.

THE CALL TO PASTOR AND EVANGELIZE

Elder Kenneth Haney wanted Brother and Sister Keyes to return to the Bible college, but Brother Keyes felt led to start evangelizing. Their first revival was at her uncle’s church. They were scheduled for other revivals until the end of 1970. They then had a revival at Mendota where the pastor asked them to take the church. Brother Keyes accepted the pastorship and moved the church to Firebaugh. There he and the congregation built a new building. At times, Brother Keyes worked alone. Sister Keyes who was pregnant at the time, walked every day to her job cleaning rooms in a motel - a motel frequented by truckers who tended to leave their rooms a challenge to clean. Within two years, they built the congregation from 12 to over 100. He then was asked to pastor in Prescott, Arizona. Sister Keyes was excited as her family lived in nearby Phoenix. However, Sister Keyes preferred the life of evangelizing. He accepted the pastorship and increased the church from 70 to 150 members in two years. It was a progressive church which kept a good standard. He also became the Conqueror’s President in the state of Arizona. Brother Keyes felt that there was a ceiling on his ministry because it was a retirement area. People were not as open to the gospel. He knew evangelism was in his blood, and he regretfully left the church for four more years of evangelizing. He was now 26 years old, and he and Sister Keyes with young Kim began a great evangelistic harvesting. They held revivals in Turlock, Modesto, Stockton, Fresno, Riverside, San Jose, San Diego, Houston, Dallas, and Flint, Michigan, just to name a few. Doors opened everywhere. He held three revivals in Modesto for Brother Dansby.

MODESTO BECKONS

In 1981, Brother Dansby asked Brother Keyes to apply for the pastorship of Modesto. Brother Keyes knew that the Modesto church had the greatest potential for fantastic growth as he had previously told his wife. Three other churches had invited him to come as pastor which were much larger and more generous financially, but the Holy Spirit prompted him to chose Modesto! The congregation numbered about 142 members including their children. There were two buses running in the Sunday School Department, and their Tuolumne Christian School had shut down. Brother Keyes admits that he never lost his drive to evangelize. He began to blend this ministry with his pastorship. The congregation quickly caught on to the burden of soul winning. Soon visitors began to pack the pews. Brother Keyes remembers a huge surge of sinners coming in during this time. Many were from the Hispanic community. He remembers Sister Suzie Evans’ conversion and many of her family members following her through the Tuolumne doors. He also remembers Sister Josie Barraza’s conversion and the Loronas. Brother Charles Bispo was dynamic in bringing many from his work. Soon the Tuolumne sanctuary was packed every Sunday night. More buses were purchased, the Tuolumne Christian School was reopened under the principalship of Brother Darryl Wilson. Sister Janet Drury organized an effective music department that began to foster talent from younger members like Sister Shurece Hunt. Sister Quigley led the chorale for many years, adding to the services inspired singing. All this took place within two years. It was not long before Brother Keyes realized the church had to expand in building space. Projections were made for the Tuolumne property, and the church leaders found out that an expanded sanctuary would only hold at most 650 souls. Brother Keyes had a greater vision than this. He knew this church had the potential to number in the thousands. That’s when he seriously began to consider the big, white abandoned building on 7th and I. After much prayer and many miracles, the building was purchased and renovation began. Many of his friends raised their eyebrows as they toured the vast auditorium originally designed to be a movie theater. But our pastor kept revival fires alive through anointed leadership. In less than ten years two phases opened up the entire auditorium to the size of our sanctuary today. These testimonies cannot do justice to the legacy these two leave in the long history of our church. Many more years would follow with more building projects, ministries birthed and, above all, a huge missionary outreach to all points of the globe. Truly Bishop Keyes will be remembered as a “missionary pastor.” How many souls have been saved locally and worldwide because of his burden for the harvest fields cannot be earthly fathomed. Though the light was dim when he came, he left with a much brighter glow for all who will follow. May our Lord Jesus Christ give Bishop Keyes and his devoted wife great blessings and new adventures until He returns.