Intercessor. Pastor. Mother of the community. The founding voice of UIPFA and a lifelong servant of the Lord.
“Her desire was always to see families stay together, because God has ordained marriage.”
Dr. Edna E. Travis was born in Mississippi on November 1, 1928, and came to the Pacific Northwest in 1948 as an army bride. While working various jobs, she raised and educated her three daughters and was always active in their school functions — today her daughters are professional women of God serving in ministry.
Dr. Travis worked as a Licensed Professional Nurse and briefly for the State of Washington. A devout believer in education, she earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from The Evergreen State College, a Master of Theology from A.L. Hardy Academy of Theology, and a Master of Education from Antioch University. She held a Pastoral Counselor's License from the Tacoma Christian Council and counseled families across the country and around the world — reuniting many that had been separated.
Dr. Travis was Founder and Pastor of New Covenant Pentecostal Tabernacle in Tacoma, Washington. Members of New Covenant went on to found more than thirty ministries worldwide. In 1987 she founded the United Interdenominational Full Gospel Prayer & Fellowship Association and served as President until her homegoing in 2019. Her outreach reached Ft. Lewis Evergreen Chapel, Jefferson Street Nursing Home, Purdy Treatment Center for Women, and McNeil Island State Penitentiary. For three years she was heard on KBLE and KLAY 1480 as the “Midnight Cry Messenger.”
On March 4, 1985 Dr. Travis began a Feeding Program at New Covenant — beginning by carrying food from her own home. The program grew to serve 1,500–1,800 guests monthly, Monday through Friday, and continues to this day. She served on the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce, Tacoma Urban League, and the YWCA Board of Directors, was the first “Elect Lady” of the Full Gospel Pentecostal Missionary Association, and served as Superintendent of the United Interdenominational Holiness Academy of Excellence.
