Brother Robert L. Mullen, age 94, pastor of the Church of God in Hamilton, Montana, for a total of forty-nine years answered the last call of the Lord on Sunday morning, November 3, 2002. Christ's beckoning call came as he laid suffering from complications that followed a broken hip.

Brother Robert L. Mullen was born in Atwood, Kansas, on April 1, 1908. He was the son of Arthur and Rachel Mullen.

In 1930, Brother Mullen was converted while attending a Free Methodist congregation. The following year, Brother Burge, a Church of God minister, came to work on the family farm during the harvest season. He invited Brother Mullen to an evangelistic meeting at the congregation in Norton, Kansas, where Brother MacIntosh was pastoring. During this service, Brother Stuart brought a message from the Book of Revelation on "The Church." Brother Mullen saw the beauty of the Church of God and accepted the message. He then took his stand for the truth and came out of sectism.

Brother Mullen was married to Myrtle Davis in Medford, Oregon, on June 14, 1936. For a very short period of time before they married, Brother Mullen had been Sister Myrtle's pastor. They enjoyed sixty-six wonderful years of married life.

During the ministry of Brother and Sister Mullen, they had the privilege of knowing the following reformation ministers: Brother J. J. Gillespie, Brother E. E. Byrum, Brother E. H. Arndt, and Brother O. L. Yerty. Brother Byrum prayed for the healing of Brother Mullen's brother. Undoubtedly, it was through the influence of these dear brethren that Brother and Sisten Mullen enjoyed a ministry of faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ.

Brother and Sister Mullen preached and practiced the doctrine of divine healing. During their labors, they witnessed the mighty, miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. The words of Jesus Christ—"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover"—were fulfilled in the ministry of Brother and Sister Mullen.

Brother S. O. Susag was another pioneer Church of God minister who Brother and Sister Mullen knew. While Brother and Sister Mullen were pastoring in Plains, Montana, Brother Susag held several revival meetings for the congregation. According to Sister Mullen, "Brother Susag was a great faith builder." He was in his mid-eighties when he traveled to Plains, Montana, on a train. Brother Susag had come to this country from Norway. At times Brother Susag was told that he should not travel at his advanced age, but he replied, "If I am in Norway or in the United States, I am the same distance from Heaven."

At the time of His departure, Brother Mullen had been retired from the active ministry for approximately two years. He first served the congregation in Hamilton, Montana, from 1950 to 1957. At that time, he accepted the call to pastor the Church of God in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, for the second time. In 1960 he returned to Hamilton to pastor again until 2000.

Before moving to Hamilton, Montana, in 1950, Brother Robert Mullen had pastored congregations in Medford, Oregon, from 1936 to 1938; Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, for the first time from 1939 to 1941; Grants Pass, Oregon, as an interim pastor in 1941; and in Plains, Montana, from 1942 to 1950.

As we all know, Brother Mullen was an avid fisherman and hunter. However, it was a principle of his life that he would never hunt or fish on Sunday, the Lord's Day, even though it was the opening day of the hunting season. God always honored him for his obedience.

The Apostle John wrote, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (Revelation 14:13). Brother David Stegmeier, pastor of the Church of God congregation in Canby, Oregon, was brought into the truth of the beautiful Church of God through the efforts of Brother and Sister Mullen in Plains, Montana, during the late forties.

Brother Patrick Brower, a converted Roman Catholic under Brother and Sister Mullen's ministry in Hamilton, Montana, a few years ago has assumed the responsibility of pastoring the congregation there. The Psalmist wrote, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age" (Psalm 92:14).

Brother Mullen will be missed by his many loved ones, friends, and members of the family of God. He was a blessing to all who knew him.

Pastor E. David Stegmeier