History
of the Church
Excerpts
from GMSPC History Overview
The
origin of this church can be found in a religious movement
known as the Pentecostal Assemblies
of the World. The late Bishop James T. Morris
who founded the Highway Christian Church, was introduced
to the Pentecostal doctrine, and changed his religious
persuasion to this rapidly spreading denomination.
Out
from the Highway Christian Church, the Pentecostal doctrine
was further propagated by a small band of saints in the
home of Sis. Amelia Williams. In 1935, Sis. Williams officially
organized the group under the umbrella of the parent church
and was installed as its' first pastor. After eight short
months, the death of Sis. Williams brought about the tremendous
task of finding someone qualified to lead this infant church
forward. By divine province, the Assistant Pastor, then
Elder Ramsey N. Butler was appointed and in 1936, installed
as the new pastor.
The
church grew rapidly in the first 10 years of its existence.
It occupied four locations as a result of the growth—the
home of Sis. Amelia Williams; the 1300 block of 9th Street,
NW; the 400 block of First Street; and 301 G Street, SW. The
Morning Star church family continued to grow. To accommodate
the growth, Bishop Butler lead the church in a project to
build a sanctuary at the church's current location, 4417 Dix
St., NE.
Bishop
Butler continued to preach the gospel and souls were continually
added to the church. Once again, Bishop Butler was forced
into a large-scale building project. In 1980, the current
sanctuary was built and the name of the church was changed
from Morning Star Pentecostal Church to Greater Morning
Star Pentecostal Church. God blessed Morning Star to liquidate
the mortgage on the sanctuary two years after construction.
In 1986, the church expanded further with the construction
of the Ramsey N. Butler educational building.
Before
Bishop Butler retired as pastor, God impressed upon him
to find a new pastor for Morning Star. Bishop Butler started
an interview and screening process for those who were interested
in pasturing the church. At the end of this process, all
qualified candidates were presented to the church family
for a vote. The church membership voted and the majority
selected Elder Charles Johnson (now Bishop) as the new
pastor.
On
April 6, 1986, Elder Charles Edward Johnson (now Bishop
Johnson) was installed as pastor of Greater Morning Star
Pentecostal Church. The transition was smooth and the work
of the church has continued to grow under our current leader,
Bishop Charles Johnson, from approximately 600 members
to over 1500 members to date.
Once
again, the sanctuary isn't large enough to hold the increase.
Souls are being saved and must have a place to worship. To
accommodate the growth, Morning Star, under the leadership
of our Pastor and with the help of the Lord, plan to build
another place of worship. The property for our new building
is 60 acres and is located at 1700 Ritchie-Marlboro Road,
Upper Marlboro, Maryland. To God
be the Glory for the things he has done!
