[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF BISHOP T.F. TENNEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Abraham) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of the 
Reverend T.F. Tenney, who died last week after dedicating more than 65 
years of his life to the ministry through the United Pentecostal 
Church.
  Bishop Tenney began preaching at the young age of 16. He and his 
wife, Thetus, were elected to the pastorate when they were just 19 and 
18 years old, respectively, to lead a newly formed church in Monroe, 
Louisiana.
  It was in Monroe where Bishop Tenney cultivated his leadership skills 
that would serve him throughout his career as he would go on to lead 
ministries directed toward youth, foreign missions, and the greater 
Pentecostal church as a whole throughout Louisiana.
  Bishop Tenney will be remembered as a man who took new ideas and 
turned them into action. That enthusiasm made him a perfect fit for 
youth ministry, and he served for 6 years as the youth president of the 
Louisiana District United Pentecostal Church and 9 years as the 
international youth president.
  In 1970, Bishop Tenney relocated to the UPC headquarters in Missouri 
to serve as the UPC's foreign missions director, a position that 
allowed him to share his belief in Christ with the rest of the world.
  Bishop Tenney returned home to Louisiana to pastor a church in 
DeRidder. Later, he was elected as the Louisiana district director of 
the United Pentecostal Church, where he oversaw about 300 churches and 
800 other ministers. He served in that post for 27 years before 
retiring to become bishop emeritus of the Louisiana district.
  I am proud that Bishop Tenney called Louisiana and the Fifth 
Congressional District his home, though we know now that he is in his 
true home with the Father.
  He was a true man of God, who touched the lives of countless people 
both at home and around the globe. He published a dozen books, created 
thousands of YouTube videos, and had a Twitter following of more than 
44,000 people, all signs of the incredible legacy of the Christian 
devotion that he left behind.
  Bishop Tenney will be greatly missed, and Dianne and I will keep him 
and his family in our prayers.

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