Dodie Osteen, the co-founder of Lakewood Church and mother of current pastor Joel Osteen, has passed away at the age of 91.



Dodie Osteen, the co-founder of Lakewood Church and mother of current pastor Joel Osteen, has passed away at the age of 91.

According to Joel Osteen, who broke the news of his mother’s passing on Facebook Wednesday night, Dodie passed away “peacefully at her home" of "natural causes."

"It is with a heavy heart that Victoria and I, along with our family, announce the passing of our cherished mother and grandmother, Dolores' Dodie' Osteen. She was the beloved matriarch of Lakewood Church, an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and a faithful servant of God," he wrote.

"Known as 'Mama Dodie' to the entire Lakewood family, together, we celebrate her amazing life and lasting legacy,” he added.

Dodie, who co-founded Lakewood in 1959 with her husband, John, who passed away in 1999, shared a testimony in 1987 that God healed her from metastatic cancer in 1981. At the time, she shared that she was informed of the diagnosis just 15 days before Christmas.

"When I found out about it, I was, of course, devastated. The whole family was devastated. Here I had finally gotten to the point where I could enjoy life a little because I didn't have little children and had been well all my life, and then all of a sudden was struck with the news of cancer of the liver with a tumor the size of an orange," Dodie explained.

After leaving the hospital on December 11, Dodie joined in with her husband and prayed for healing.

"I got up on the 11th of December. John and I got on our faces in our bedroom, and we prayed. And he, as head of the house, rebuked that cancer in my body. And I set the date of December 11th, 1981, as the date that I was healed," she recalled.

"Now I'd advise you, if you're fighting a battle, it'd be a good thing for you if you'd like to set a date because I think that when the devil comes against you and torments you in the middle of the night like he did me, you can always say, 'No devil take your hands off of me because on December 11th I believe I received my healing,'" she added.

"I say that every day when I awake in the morning, and if I forget to say it, I say it later on in the day because I believe that on that day God began the healing process of cancer in my body. John commanded that cancer to wither and die. It began to die as far as I'm concerned on that day."

John, who also shared his part of the testimony, said that he told the doctor that he believed in a miracle for his wife’s healing from cancer.

"I lifted Dodie out of that bed. She weighed 89 pounds. [I] put her in a wheelchair and took her home. We got on our faces before the Lord and we pled His promises. I'm glad to announce that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, healed Dodie."

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