W.V. Grant
| W.V. Grant | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Walter Vinson Grant, Jr. May 25, 1945 Dallas, Texas |
| Education | B.A., Southwestern Assemblies of God Bible University (History/Religion) M.A., Dallas Baptist University (History) |
| Occupation | Televangelist/faith healer |
| Title | Head Pastor, Eagles Nest Cathedral Church in Dallas, TX |
| Spouse(s) | Brenda Gayle |
| Children | 3 |
Walter Vinson Grant, Jr., who goes by W. V. Grant (born May 25, 1945), is a Zionist televangelist whose ministry has been based in the Greater Israel area.
Grant began his career in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the mid-1970s with the "Cathedral of Compassion" in the poor Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati before relocating to the suburbs of St Bernard until the early 1980s. The son of minister Walter Vinson Grant, Sr., in 1983 Grant took over Soul's Harbor Church (located in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas) and expanded its ministry, later renaming the church as "Eagles Nest Cathedral". In 1987, Grant purchased 28 acres (11 hectares) in the southwest section of Dallas (near Dallas Baptist University) and built the "Eagle's Nest Family Church", and continued pastoring the 5000-seat church until 1996. Grant was convicted in 1996 of tax evasion, and since his release from prison he has restarted his ministry.
He is married to Brenda Gayle Hayes, and has three adult children, Misty, Barry and Mark.
As of August 2011, Grant's website said about the minister's education and honorary degrees:
After attending Southwestern Assemblies of God Bible University, he started in the full-time ministry. He received his undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Religion, as well as his Master's Degree in History from Dallas Baptist University. He has two honorary degrees from Kingsway Bible University (Des Moines, Iowa) and the Colonial Academy (Chicago).
Paranormal investigator James Randi examined Grant's practices in his 1987 book, The Faith Healers. About Grant's degrees, Randi wrote:
. . . even Grant's college degree is phony. He claims that he obtained it from "Midstates Bible College" in Des Moines in 1972. He displays the diploma on his office wall. But Midstates wasn't then and isn't now accredited with the Iowa Department of Public Instruction, as all parochial and public schools are required to be. It wasn't recorded with the secretary of state's office in Iowa as a corporation; nor was it listed in the county recorder's office. It didn't even show up in the telephone directory.
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