The Church Wars of Jonesboro were a series of conflicts in Jonesboro, Arkansas between followers of the fundamentalist evangelist Joe Jeffers and the Reverend Dow H. Heard, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. Members of Jeffers' congregation also attacked the mayor and police chief, resulting in Governor Harvey Parnell calling out the Arkansas National Guard. Background Joe Jeffers was born in 1898 to railroad workers in Roanoke, Oklahoma. He was one of 15 children, many of whom went on to become foreign missionaries. At the age of 20, in 1918, he was ordained as a Baptist minister, and was an avid follower of J. Frank Norris. Jeffers started his career as an actor/comedian and later turned to become a traveling evangelist. On June 29, 1930 Jeffers was invited by the First Baptist Church and Jonesboro Bible College to Craighead County, Arkansas to begin a series of tent revival meetings. His meetings gained popularity and he preached through June until early August. When the pastor of the First Baptist Church (A. W Reaves) resigned, the congregation elected Jeffers. Later a large percent of the congregation claimed that they were not represented and called for a revote. Instead, the congregation chose Dow H. Heard of Big Springs, Texas. While the agreement was being reached, Jeffers took a leave of absence, and once Heard had been elected, he left to continue his ministry elsewhere. First Baptist Church Conflict During August 1931 Jeffers returned to Craighead County to inaugurate ongoing revival meetings. His sermons included warning that the Second Coming was to occur in May 1932 and accused both Heard and Mayor Herbert J. Bosler of immoral activity. On September 9, a brawl broke out between Jeffers and Heard’s supporters at the First Baptist Church. George L. Cox Jr., a Jeffers supporter, was decided as the aggressor and was to be tried the next day. The following day Jeffers led a group of his supporters to the courthouse to protest Cox’s arrest. During a prayer at the protest, Jeffers asked God to “strike the mayor dead”. Jeffers supporters also attacked Mayor Bosler and the police chief W. C. Craige. Governor Harvey Parnell allowed the use of state troops at Arkansas State College and other troops around the state to occupy Craighead County. The occupation also included the use of military observation plane. The troops stationed themselves throughout the town and Jeffers’ tent,