Our History
The Faith Apostolic Church of Christ, Inc., has been in existence since February 1st, 1989. In May of 1988, the founder of our church, (the late) Elder Roscoe E. Jones lost his job as a purchaser for the Park Lane Manor. In January of 1989, after much prayer and fasting, the Lord spoke to Elder Jones to form the Faith Apostolic Church of Christ.
Having no place to assemble together, the Lord led Elder Jones to call the director of the YMCA on East Ferry Street, and there he acquired a room to have worship services in. (the late) Bishop Leroy Jones, the founder of the Cold Spring Church of God in Christ Jesus, gave us our first two weeks of rent and we have not been without since.
Our first service, Noonday prayer, was held on February 1st, 1989, and approximately five members were there. (The late) Bishop Nathan S. Halton, the founder of The Faith Bible Tabernacle Church, was a great help to us by donating pulpit furniture, folding chairs, and the use of his baptismal pool. On Saturday, February 4th, 1989, the Lord blessed the first soul to be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost.
In March 1989, we decided to see if we could get some pews for the rented room, so Elder Jones called a minister friend, and he told him of a church that wanted to get rid of some pews. But when Elder Jones arrived, he saw a “for sale” sign on the building. A Deacon of the church asked if Elder Jones was interested in purchasing the building. The asking price was $20,000 with $5,000 down. After Elder Jones presented this to the church in a Noonday service, he received a call the following day from (the late) Sister Annie Walden, who loaned us $4,000 and gave us a gift of $1,000.
In June of 1989, we got confirmation that the building was ours and we could move in on July 1, 1989. Our first Noonday service was held on July 3, 1989, and we marched into the building located at 343 East North Street on July 9, 1989. We continued to fast and pray, and the Lord saved six souls, which were all filled with the Holy Ghost and were baptized in the name of Jesus.
As we continued to fellowship and grow as a family at our current location, God revealed to his servant that he had bigger plans for his people. God gave Elder Jones a vision to build a brand-new edifice on the vacant lots located across the street from the church. We began to “Rise up and build” by raising over $80,000 for our New Building project. We hired an architect to draft blueprints to visualize what God had in his plan for us and purchased the empty lots necessary to accommodate the new building.
Let us rise up and build!
In the year 1998, we laid the foundation and erected the walls. Later the roof was installed, and we realized the vision coming into view. The framing and dry walling of the sanctuary, offices, dining hall, and classrooms were completed in the year 1999. Our pews, church furniture, and lighting fixtures arrived in February of 2000, and we were very excited to see the Lord pulling everything together.
In our 11th year of service as unto the Lord, we finalized the completion of our new edifice for the Lord. In June 2000, we held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new edifice. With God, all things are possible.
During the course of 2001, we continued to follow the will of God in service to him. On April 11th, 2001, the Lord blessed us to finish the completion of our parking lot. And on November 27th, 2001, our steeple arrived, the final addition of beauty to our new edifice.
Sadly, in our 29th year of service, we lost our 1st first lady, Sister Mary Jane Jones on August 31st, 2018. She was a great help to the ministry as a gifted altar worker assisting and encouraging many souls in receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sister “MJ’s” labor of love will not be forgotten.
In March 2020 we, along with the rest of the world, faced unprecedented times as we were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor issued a state-wide mandate that canceled all religious gatherings, and we were unable to come together and have church service. However, in April 2020, the Lord presented us with an opportunity to see one another again via online video communication for Sunday school teaching. It was a bit awkward at first, but once we got used to this new way of fellowship and praising God, it became an anticipated time of rejoicing in God's Word. Our online services continued until the mandate was lifted in June 2020, and then we were able to come back together in the house of the Lord. Although we enjoyed the “ZOOM” services while we were away from one another, we were certainly glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord, Amen!
Shortly thereafter, in August 2020, Bishop Jones promoted Elder Gerald F Gibbs Jr. to become Assistant Pastor. In September of that same year, Bishop Jones became ill and was unable to resume his full-time duties as Pastor, and at that point Elder Gibbs assumed the responsibility of ministering the Word of God to the Saints.
In our 32nd year of service, the founder of the Faith Apostolic Church of Christ, Bishop Roscoe E. Jones finished his course on earth on June 26th 2021. He was a humble leader who left us a wonderful legacy and a great example of what a true servant of the Lord should be. From that point forward, Elder Gerald F. Gibbs Jr. humbly accepted his pastoral call to become the 2nd Pastor of the Faith Apostolic Church of Christ; along with his wife, Faith Apostolic Church’s 2nd First Lady, Sister Sandra Gibbs. Sister Gibbs is one of the original seven members of the Faith Apostolic Church of Christ (along with Bishop Roscoe E. Jones, Sister Mary Jane Jones, Sister Beulah Martin, (the late) Sister Carrie Deas, (the late) Sister Mary E Jones and Sister Carrie Benson). Sister Gibbs is a constant encouragement to the saints with her spiritually inspired singing, her enthusiasm for helping others, and passion for the Word of God.
As we continue in the work of the Lord, in October 2021, God directed Pastor Gibbs to begin a video outreach ministry via YouTube to help further spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to souls both within and beyond the walls of the church. In addition, through the Lord’s leading and guidance, Pastor Gibbs launched the Faith Apostolic Church website on the first of January 2022. The website provides another platform in which we can share with the world who we are and who we represent.
Under the leadership of Pastor Gibbs, we have been able to make various improvements to enhance the beauty of the house of the Lord, such as the installation of new fencing around the church property, remodeling the men’s and women’s bathrooms, and the installation of new flooring in our vestibule, church offices, dining hall, and kitchen area. God has also blessed us to repair the numerous cracks on the sanctuary walls and apply a fresh coat of paint to beautify the house of God. In addition, the original carpet of +20 years was replaced. When we look at all the wonderful things that God has accomplished with a small group of people, all we can say is “God is good!”
As we look back over our history and see where the Lord has brought us from, we can certainly say that we have so much to thank the Lord for! Let us rejoice in God and remain steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the word of God which gives us the Strength and Victory through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “To God be the Glory!”
