J. Charles Jessup

Robert Duvall based his character's sermons and preaching style on Jessup's in the 1997 film The Apostle.

Jessup died July 10, 1993, in Gulfport, at the time of death his residence was Saucier, Mississippi. He felt until the time of his death that his human side had been the cause of many failures, but that he had been genuinely used by God.

Although the FBI and IRS were never able to convict Jessup, an investigation begun in 1962 by Charles Miller and Oris Whitley of the Medical Fraud Unit of the United States Postal Inspection Service had a different outcome. Jessup was arrested, along with his ex-wife Rose and associate Pee Wee Maddux, in 1964 on eleven counts of mail fraud, false statements regarding his divorces and bigamy, which he vigorously denied. Jessup's bond was set at $100,000. James F. Neal acted as prosecutor. Originally set to be tried in Nashville, the case was moved to Mississippi upon Jessup's request as he felt he would not receive a fair trial in Nashville because of the influence of the Churches of Christ in that area. Pee Wee Maddux turned State's witness in 1967, and although he avoided jail time he regretted for years afterwards what he felt was his betrayal of Jessup. Charles Jessup, believing he would avoid jail time, pled nolo contendere on two charges in March 1968. He was convicted on these charges in December 1968, and to Jessup's astonishment was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, $2,000 in fines, and five years' subsequent probation during which any self-promotion was prohibited by judge Dan Monroe Russell Jr., who in his sentencing statement lambasted Jessup's hypocrisy. March 1969 saw Jessup report to the Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana.

Jessup married at least four times. Jessup was first married at the age of 17. The marriage proved disastrous, as his bride was highly reluctant about sexuality, while Jessup described his own sexual appetite as "insatiable". Obtaining a marriage dissolution in Iowa, he entered a second unsuccessful marriage at the age of 19. His second wife did not enjoy the life of an itinerant preacher, and although pregnant she left Jessup soon after. He married third wife Rose Oden at the age of 25, proposing to the seventeen-year-old three days after meeting her when she agreed to be a substitute pianist at his revival, the ceremony taking place five weeks after the proposal. This marriage was far more successful than the first two, as Rose enjoyed the traveling lifestyle and actively assisted her husband on the piano and accordion. Jessup obtained a Mexican divorce from Rose, without her knowledge, in 1962, an action Jessup later blamed on the stress of the Postal Service investigation. He married 15-year-old Nita Uribe while still married (in the United States) to his third wife, an indictment that was part of the criminal charges of which he was ultimately convicted. He remained married to Nita until the time of his death.

A 1954 Churches of Christ editorial stated that Jessup was considered the leading exponent of "faith-healing", but accused him of fraud and profiting luxuriously from the misery of others. The editorial detailed a Federal investigation into Jessup's financial dealings and further made vague allegations regarding Jessup's sexuality. Although Jessup maintained that his salary was a mere $75 a week, he lived luxuriously and owned several expensive air, land and sea vehicles.

The Jessup Brothers were a gospel group with five to seven members, consisting of various Jessup Brothers plus Pee Wee Maddux, who performed religious music in the western-swing style. In 1951 they campaigned for Sam Lumpkin. They were represented by agent Dallas Turner in association with Harold Schwartz. In addition to their singing, they were known for their instrumental prowess, and in 1957 member Darrel Jessup custom ordered a guitar billed as "one of the most radical guitars of all time", which was later owned by Charles. Members included:

Jessup and his Fellowship Revival Association found further legal trouble in 1948, when he, his wife, father and brothers were sued in the amount of $100,000 by a woman who claimed to have worked for the Jessup organization as a secretary who opened mail containing contributions to the radio show. She claimed that as they exited a theater in Gulfport the Jessup group physically attacked her daughter, and then herself as she attempted to intervene, leaving the claimants irreparably injured. These charges were vigorously denied, as the Jessups stated that they were not at the location where the attack occurred, and also denied the claimant had been employed by them at any point. The defense further cast aspersion regarding the morals of the defendants. A criminal case regarding the matter was never brought forth as the claimants refused to press charges or be interviewed by investigators. The suit posited that the Jessups were generating an income of $1,380 per day through their radio program, which was described as a "sham" designed for the personal enrichment of the defendants. The Jessups maintained these figures were incorrect and that the actual daily intake varied from less than $100 to a maximum of $239. Ultimately, a jury awarded $5,000 to the claimant.

In mid 1947 Jessup was in the final planning stages (the idea first occurring to him in 1942) to broadcast sermons on Mexican border blaster radio, eventually utilizing station XERF which was widely heard across North America. Jessup, his wife and brothers incorporated the Fellowship Revival Association in Fort Worth, Texas, as an umbrella organization for their personal appearances and radio work. His radio show was highly successful, at his peak he received more than four thousand letters each day, requesting prayer and healing, and usually containing monetary donations. The success of the XERF broadcasts prompted Jessup to buy time on another border blaster, XEG, and Jessup's preaching was now available through most of North America twelve times a week. Soon he added stations in the key markets of Chicago and New York City to ensure maximum radio exposure. A 1954 federal grand jury recommended the FBI assist in further investigating Jessup's activities, which included $14,000 a week in bank deposits. Jessup's accounting system was non-existent, and although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) conducted three formal investigations, he was never convicted, largely because most of the income was in the form of small cash. By the mid-1950s he claimed responsibility for the conversion of 200,000 individuals.

Jessup sued in 1940, for slander, the superintendent of the Assembly of God Oklahoma district.

Jack Charles Jessup (March 2, 1916 – July 10, 1993) was an American revival preacher and musician. He claimed and was believed by many to have the gift of healing. Through his border blaster radio broadcasts he became well known nationally and at his peak received more than four thousand letters each day, most containing monetary donations. Dogged throughout his ministry by charges of financial and spiritual fraud, his career was ended by a 1968 mail fraud conviction.

Jack Charles Jessup was born in 1916 in Gulfport, Mississippi, to Walter and Maude Jessup, as one of nine children. He had six brothers and two sisters. His Pentecostal preacher father was an early disciple of Charles Fox Parham, and used his wife's sickness as an opportunity to cause each of his sons to promise to become gospel preachers. Jessup first began to preach on street corners at the age of twelve. He led his first revival meeting at the age of 14, in a series of meetings that proved so successful that crowds stood outside the meeting church well after the scheduled end date, such that a larger building was built, but still crowds were left outside as the series was extended to the rest of the summer. Jessup claimed his gift of healing was bestowed on him after a multi-day session of prayer and fasting that took place in Tampa, Florida, in 1933. Not long thereafter he was given a tent, purchased from Ringling Brothers, from one of the individuals who believed he had been healed through Jessup. Jessup operated independently from Christian denominations, as the Assemblies of God would not countenance his multiple marriages, and he found the Baptist denomination too restrictive from a financial standpoint. He gained fame through the 1940s as stories spread of his healing, and Oklahoma governor Roy J. Turner invited him to pray over his severely arthritic mother Etta Graham Turner. Turner's belief that she had been healed further added to Jessup's acclaim. However, Jessup was not entirely popular. Town merchants were affected as local cash circulation dwindled as Jessup received large offerings, and local ministers likewise saw a significant decrease in their offerings when Jessup was in town. Accordingly, these two groups often joined together in convincing local law enforcement to encourage Jessup to find other communities for his meetings. In particular, the Churches of Christ developed enmity towards Jessup, believing that all modern miracles were a form of heresy.