Tommy Lee 'T.L'. Osborn (1923-2013)

Tommy was born on 23rd December 1923 on a farm in Grady County, Oklahoma. He was the 7th and youngest son of 13 children.

Aged 13, in 1937, he experienced a Christian conversion at Pentecostal church in Mannford. Aged 15, while milking the cows he began to cry. He fell on his knees praying and asking God what was happening. He said the Lord called him to be an evangelist- overwhelmed he did not know whether to cry or laugh.

Aged about 16 he met future televangelist Oral Roberts - they stayed friends for 70 years.

He dropped out of school and hit the road with E. M. Dillard , a travelling evangelist.In 1941 he met Daisy Washburn and married her on Easter Day, 5th April 1942.

Mr. and Mrs Osborn worked as evangelists for the Pentecostal Church of God denomination in rural Oklahoma . They returned to California as itinerant pastors and evangelists. In 1944 (?) they started Montaville Tabernacle and became pastors. The superintendent came and spoke about his time as a missionary in India -aged 21 & 20 they were hooked. Their trip to India lasted less than a year - they both became ill.

On their return they took over the pastorate at Full Gospel Church in McMinnville (FGCM), Oregano. They prayed and they read the scriptures. In March 1947 they attended a meeting - the subject was ‘Seeing Jesus’. At 6 am Tommy had a vision. He testified that Jesus stood in front of him and his senses overwhelmed. The experience drove home one point home- Jesus was the Lord of his life. Tommy wanted only one thing- ‘the glory of Jesus’.

They first gained public notice as evangelists on the Big Tent Revival circuit in the USA and Canada.

They returned to FGCM. William Branham, Jack Moore and Gordon Lindsay were holding healing meeting. The Osborn’s with the a new vision of the love of Jesus. Branham was a humble man simply doing what Jesus asked him to do - heal the blind, give ears to the deaf, heal the cripple.

They began to hold healing meetings at their church. Miracles began to happen. The missionary flame in the Osborns rose again. They felt they now had the key to reach the lost in foreign lands. They joined Voice of Healing Organization

Between 1950-1964 the couple held large crusades in 40 countries. 10s of 1000s attended the meetings and the ministry was marked by dramatic miracles and healings.

The Osborns used the media- books, media recordings and a magazine called
Faith Digest. They created a vast amount of evangelistic and training material. The couple were very active and by the 1980s had visited 70 nations holding large crusades and reaching millions of people

Tommy and Daisy were married for 53 years.
Daisy died 27th May, 1995, aged 70. Tommy continued to travel/conduct crusades for 15 more years, if his health allowed, and died on 14th February 2013, aged 89, after many years of faithful service.

Tommy and Daisy are interred together at the memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa.

Sources
Healing & Revival
wikipedia