Eikerenkoetter II, Frederick J.
- Jonathan L. Walton
Extract
Eikerenkoetter II, Frederick J. (1 June 1935–28 July 2009), evangelist and popular television preacher more commonly known as Reverend Ike, was born in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the only child of Frederick Joseph Eikerenkoetter, Sr. and Rema Estelle (Matthews) Eikerenkoetter. His father was of Dutch-Indonesian descent and a conservative Baptist minister; his mother was a teacher at the local “colored” school in Ridgeland. His parents divorced when Frederick was five years old. Though Rema Eikerenkoetter retained custody of her son, young Frederick remained close to his father. By the age of fourteen he had entered the ministry, becoming an assistant minister of the Bible Way Church in Ridgeland where his father served as senior pastor. This would begin a lifelong career. After graduating from high school in ...
