Welcome to the Church of God and Saints of Christ!
We are the Joshua Generation, and the Church Where People Matter. We'd love to have you visit us.
Here, we are committed to sharing the hope of Jesus. We gather to worship and encourage each other on our faith journey.
We are one church with multiple locations. Each week we gather to celebrate the goodness of God. Our worship experience is in person at physical locations and virtually on zoom.
We are passionate about serving God and making a difference in our communities. Thank you for stopping by to learn about our church. We invite you to come and grow with us!
The Church of God and Saints of Christ is a Christ-centered ministry; established
to evangelize the lost soul, equip and empower the believer, and exalt our God and His Son Jesus Christ.
VISION
We strive to serve the local and global community through ministry that promotes and produces a holistic and healthy lifestyle with the spirit of excellence. It is our assignment to raise a standard in this generation of embracing a higher dimension.
PROMISE
We promise to commit ourselves tirelessly to “Changing the World with the life-changing Word;” offering hope to all generations by using every possible resource to accomplish His kingdom agenda.
AUTHORITY
The Word of God is our authority, and we believe that it is total and absolute. We believe that we can have what it says we can have, we can do what it says we can do, and we can be what it says we can be.
Our Beliefs
We believe in God the Father as the supreme Being, who is Creator of the universe and all who dwell in it; we believe in His only begotten son, Jesus, as our Christ, Lord, and Saviour; and we believe in the Holy Spirit as our comforter, teacher, and guide (Genesis 1:1, Acts 4:12, John 16:13).
The scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, authoritative word of God. We deem the Bible as a "full and sufficient guide" (II Timothy 3:16)
Repentance is the first step to the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15, Luke 5:32). We believe in baptism by immersion in water and by the Spirit. It is symbolic of one's death(of sinful life) and resurrection (into a new life with Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). We also believe in putting on the spiritual armor of God according to Eph. 6:11-17.
Salvation is a beautiful gift from God through belief in His only begotten son, Jesus (Acts 4:12). By the shedding of His blood, redemption from spiritual death is offered to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (John 3:16-17, Romans 1:16).
We believe in the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous; the righteous to everlasting life in the 1st resurrection, the unrighteous to eternal punishment and separation from God in the 2nd resurrection (Dan. 12:2, John 5:28-29, Rev. 20:4-6).
Unleavened bread and water are representative of Christ's body and blood (Matt. 26:26-28, John 6:51, John 19:34, I John 5:8).
The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God and we look to them as our moral guide (Ex. 20:1-18, Rev. 22:14).
We observe God's 7th Day Sabbath (Friday sunset - Saturday sunset). It was created by God at the beginning of time, and remains a covenant between God and His people (Gen. 2:2-3, Ex. 20:10). The Sabbath was taught and observed by Jesus and His disciples (Luke 4:16, Acts 13:13-14, Isaiah 58:13).
Tithing 10% is an obligation to God, not man. Tithing, along with free will offerings serve to support the work of the ministry (Gen. 14:20, Malachi 3:7-10).
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The Call
When the hand of the Lord moves upon a life, there is–without a doubt– transformation. In 1892, God saw fit to touch a simple farmer, William Saunders Crowdy, and call him from his humble existence as a sower of seeds to the far greater purpose of harvesting souls.
The Challenge
Crowdy had been born into slavery in Maryland, and had made a living as a soldier in the Civil War and later as a railroad worker; yet this man from such humble beginnings began to have revolutionary dreams. He dreamed of establishing a church whose doctrine encompassed both the Old and New Testaments, a church that would proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, a church that would welcome people from all backgrounds into one family of faith. It must have seemed ridiculous for a man of color in an age of segregation to consider taking on such an enormous task, but with God all things are possible.
The Church
By 1896, Crowdy was able to formally establish the Church of God and Saints of Christ. He began his ministry in the mid-western states preaching and teaching on street corners, quickly gaining converts to Christ. His teachings included the 7th Day Sabbath (Saturday), foot-washing, bread and water for Christ’s body and blood, Passover Memorial and Days of Unleavened Bread, and Abib (April 1st as the beginning of the spiritual new year. He envisioned and wrote the entire Bible-based doctrine for the church, stating that his teacher was the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Some of his writings were copyrighted on December 16, 1902, in the office of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Prophet Crowdy established tabernacles in many cities, and also set up small businesses to provide income for the church and membership. He began to dispatch ministers to evangelize across the world. Consequently, the Church spread abroad to Europe and Southern Africa as well as Bermuda, Canada, and Jamaica where it still thrives. He passed away in 1908 in Newark, New Jersey.
Today there are several different governing bodies of the Church of God and Saints of Christ in existence. Our former leader, Bishop Robert H. Stallings, Sr. carried on the work of the church, governing several churches throughout the United States, Canada, and Southern Africa during his tenure. He traveled the world preaching in Israel, England, Japan, South Korea, Jamaica, Canada, Bermuda, and South Africa and his message remained the same – “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” In August of 2018, Bishop Stallings addressed the church, stating that the Lord had given him the name of who would carry on the work of the church. Using the example of Moses and Joshua, Bishop Stallings named his successor in the person of Bishop C.L. Hendricks to lead the “Joshua Generation.” Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”
William Saunders Crowdy (1847-1908)
Founder (re-establisher) of the Church of God and Saints of Christ
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