From humble beginnings in rural South Carolina, Franklin G. Tunstall emerged early as a leader among his peers. He served as president of his class from seventh through twelfth grades. In his senior year, he won the annual public speaking contest for South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia in the Future Farmers of America speech program.
Frank was born on August 3, 1943, in Lake City, South Carolina. He passed away peacefully on November 3, 2026, surrounded by his family and close friends.
Frank was one of five children born to Henry C. and Ida B. Tunstall. He grew up on a farm. In fact, he said his father grew most of the food they ate, including beef, pork, and chickens, as well as plenty of vegetables.
Though Frank had committed his life to Christ when he was about ten years old, he attributed the anchoring of his faith to the youth camp ministry of the South Carolina Conference of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. “The life-changing event of my early years came following one of those camps when I built an altar in the woods,” he recalled. “I returned to that sacred place regularly to pray throughout my high school years.”
At that same campsite, Frank met Lula Mae Flowers in June 1963, shortly after he graduated from Emmanuel College. They were married in Rockingham, North Carolina, on March 29, 1964.
As for a definite time or event when he sensed God’s call on his life, Frank said he has no specific recollection. “I guess it was something I always felt. I began to talk about becoming a preacher when I was in my early teens.”
Frank was credentialed as a minister in the South Carolina Conference in 1961. That same year, he enrolled in Emmanuel College and was graduated with an A.A. degree in 1963. The following year, he enrolled in Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and graduated in 1966 with a B.S. degree in English. During that time, he accepted the pastorate of the Elizabethtown PH Church in the North Carolina Conference and led the congregation in building a new sanctuary. This construction project was the first of 12 he would initiate and see through to completion during his ministry.
In 1966, the Tunstalls moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Frank enrolled in the graduate seminary of Oral Roberts University. He completed an M.Div. there in 1969 as part of ORU’s second graduating class. While attending ORU, he cross-enrolled at the University of Tulsa and simultaneously earned a Master of Arts degree in medieval European history. Later, he earned a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from the Graduate Seminary of Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma.
Also, while at ORU, Frank pastored three congregations in the East Oklahoma Conference (now known as New Horizons Ministries). These churches included Pryor, Cleveland, and Mounds. During Frank’s senior year, Seminary Dean Dr. R.O. Corvin recommended him for employment at Southwestern College in Oklahoma City. Dr. Corvin’s brother, Dr. W.R. Corvin, served as president of Southwestern at the time, and he hired Frank without an interview. The Tunstalls relocated to Oklahoma City that summer and lived in an un-airconditioned boys’ dorm room until they found a home. He became the school’s first campus pastor in 1969. He also taught Bible classes, church history, and humanities. Later the title, dean of the school of religion, was added to his job description.
Recognizing Dr. Tunstall’s skill and leadership ability, IPHC Presiding Bishop J. Floyd Williams invited him in 1972 to serve as editor in chief of IPHC publications. That role included serving as editor of The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate, the denomination’s official journal at the time. This new role required that the Tunstalls relocate again, this time to Franklin Springs, Georgia, where Frank worked at Advocate Press until the denominational headquarters moved to Oklahoma City in 1973. He continued in that position in Oklahoma City until 1979, when he resigned to take on the challenge of planting a new church—Northwest Christian Center (now known as Reflection Church) in Oklahoma City.
But Dr. Tunstall’s service on the denominational level was not finished. In 1980, he was given the challenging assignment of president of Southwestern College (now Southwestern Christian University). He said he did not know when he accepted that role that he would be called on to close the school’s campus at its original location on N.W. 10th Street. He served through graduation that year, which was the last graduating class from the 10th Street location.
Frank’s second tenure as president of the college began in 1983 at the invitation of the Southwestern Board of Education. During this term, the development of the new campus accelerated. The goals included preserving the school’s accreditation, building a new campus, moving the college out of its temporary home in the IPHC Headquarters facility, and increasing enrollment. When he resigned as president, the college was on a sound financial footing.
While pastoring Northwest Christian Center, Dr. Tunstall also served the Heartland Conference for 12 years as assistant superintendent and conference missions director in the administration of Superintendent James McDowell. In 2006, he was elected Conference Bishop and Superintendent of the Heartland Conference. He served in that role for eight years.
In his retirement, Dr. Tunstall stayed busy teaching adjunct at SCU, preaching in churches on weekends, spending time with his family, and, of course, writing. Some of his published works include the following:
A Modern Prophecy. The Ammonite Connection, coauthored with his brother, Dr. John Tunstall (Xulon Press, 2004).
The Simultaneous Principle: A History of World Missions, the First 100 Years (LifeSprings, 2005)
Our Awesome Lord, A Pentecostal Christology (Creation House, 2008)
Jesus, the One and Only (LifeSprings, 2014)
Jesus Son of God, Books 1 and 2 (Tate Publishing)
Jesus Son of God, A Study of Passion Week, Anchored in the Gospel of John (Xulon Press, 2017)
Making Peter an Apostle (© 2023 by Frank Tunstall)
The Day That Changed Everything (LifeSprings Resources, 2025
Jesus and Peter (© 2026 by Frank Tunstall)
Dr. Frank’s daughter, Dena Chitwood, recalls her dad’s desire to see the IPHC offer an M.Div. degree and, ultimately, a D.Min. program so IPHC ministers would not need to reach outside the denomination to obtain these advanced degrees. “In 2021, while driving, Dad received what he recognized as a mandate from God to help facilitate the establishment of the M.Div. degree with Emmanuel University (EU) in Franklin Springs, Georgia. He wasted no time sharing his vision with the school’s president. EU honored dad in 2024 at their homecoming for his initiative in launching this program,” she says. “Even though he will not be here to see it, we are excited to witness the first graduates this year on November 21, and we believe the Lord will continue to honor his desire to see a doctoral program offered, as well, in the future.”
Dr. Frank G. Tunstall was predeceased by his wife and “Baby Doll,” Lula Mae (Flowers) Tunstall, in March 2023. He was also predeceased by his parents, his only sister, two brothers and his youngest son, Derek, who died in a car wreck on June 1, 2006.
He is survived by his only daughter, Claudena (Dena) Marie Chitwood (Chuck), son, Franklin Jr. (Angela), and five grandchildren: Abigail Luna (Garrett), Chase, and Zachary Chitwood, Derek and Dalton Tunstall, one great grandchild, Elliott Luna, and one brother, John, of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Presiding Bishop J. Talmadge Gardner and Former Presiding Bishop Dr. Doug Beacham recall with gratitude Dr. Tunstall’s numerous leadership roles in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church:
“Bishop Frank Tunstall—or Pastor Frank, as he preferred—left an enduring legacy in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. He was a pastor to pastors, a scholar among scholars, a mentor to generations of young men and women, and a visionary conference leader. A champion of missionaries and missions, he exemplified personal generosity through the development of Emmanuel University’s Christian Ministries Graduate Program and its matching scholarship program for IPHC ministers enrolled in the program. He was also a prolific writer and a devoted husband and father who cherished his family. I will always remember how he honored his dear wife, Lou, whom he affectionately called ‘Baby Doll.’
“The book, Belfast, offers these words: ‘Do not say in grief that you are sorry that he is gone – rather – say in thankfulness that he was here.’
“Statesmen such as Bishop Tunstall have shaped the International Pentecostal Holiness Church for generations. We honor this great man of God and offer our deepest condolences to his beloved family.
Presiding Bishop J. Talmadge Gardner
General Superintendent,
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
“Few leaders have had as much impact on the International Pentecostal Holiness Church as Dr. Frank Tunstall. He served as Editor in Chief of the denomination’s magazine (The International Pentecostal Holiness ADVOCATE), university president, conference superintendent, pastor, prolific writer, composer of two of the denomination’s position papers, and a camp meeting preacher and teacher. He lived a holy and righteous life, giving glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ. I am personally grateful for the precious times I had in his company.
Dr. Doug Beacham
Former IPHC General Superintendent
President, Pentecostal and Charismatic
Churches of North America
A Memorial Service for Dr. Frank G. Tunstall is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 10 a.m., Chapel Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 8701 Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City. Visitation is planned for Wednesday, November 11, 5-8 p.m.
General Superintendent, International Pentecostal Holiness Church
