Born in Monroe County, Tennessee,[2] he was one of the founders of the Church of God.
[3] His father, Richard Spurling (1810 - 1891) was an ordained Baptist elder, who presided over the founding of the church on August 10, 1886.
[3] The Spurlings held a meeting at their family grist mill in Tennessee on Thursday, August 19 1886, to see if there was interest in starting a new church in the area.
[4] Spurling Jr held a Revival meeting in Liberty, Tennessee in 1892 during which some members spoke in tongues.
[5] In summer 1896 the CU led to a ten-day revival in the Shearer Schoolhouse in Camp Creek, North Carolina.