Our Church History
In 1936, six Christians from Pennsylvania came to Newark, NJ to reside. Upon their arrival they discovered that there wasn’t a Church of Christ in all of Brick City.
Desiring to continue in the faith and undaunted by this realization, they went to Jersey City to worship with the saints that resided there. The group consisted of Howard and Florence Johnson, Pearl Davis, Earl Johnson and his wife, and Hattie Cannon.
One year later, on November 14, 1937, the charter members began worshipping in Newark, at the Cotton Funeral home, located at 145 W. Market Street.
They did so under the direction of A. W. Hastings, minister of the Jersey City Church and Levi Kennedy, who was the minister of the Harlem Church at the time. By July 1, 1939, they had increased in number to 12 hard fighting soldiers and moved to 27 Hartford Street.
Due to the location, they desired to move the congregation again and in December of 1942, they moved to 15th Avenue and Bedford Street. During this time, Brother Hastings departed for the West and the work of the Church was left in the hands of Brother Howard U. Johnson and Brother Allan Jacobs.
Later Brother A. C. Holt of Detroit, Michigan assisted with the ministry, diligently making quarterly visits to edify the 18 saints who made up the congregation.
In late 1943, a Church building was secured at 179 Court Street, and this remained the meeting place for seventeen years. The charter members consisted of Howard and Florence Johnson, Pearl Davis, Edward and Fay Mayo, Turner and Jessie Roberts, Inell Best, Arizona Greenlee, Essie Thorne, Lorena Brown, Allan Jacobs, Mary Sykes, Catherine Jones, Mattie Butler, Frank Johnson, Bessie Palmer and Helen Johnson. The Church was progressing so much that in 1944 a full-time minister was engaged. The Church rejoiced as Brother S. T. W Gibbs, Sr. from Texas, came on-board, and with the assistance of the Manhattan Church of Christ the congregation thrived and became self-supporting. The membership increased to 58 in number.
In 1948, the Church gained a new minister in Brother Owen Cathey of Chicago, Illinois. He labored at Newark for five years and the Church increased to 105 in number. The next minister was Brother Samuel Turrentine of Alabama and his service and dedication to the cause of Christ edified the Church and saw its membership grow to 120 saints.
In 1957, Brother Adgie O’Bryant of Newark was engaged to serve as the minister. The membership increased to 150 and on April 25, 1960, the downpayment was made for the Landmark building that the Church occupies today at Clinton Avenue and South 14th Street. This was a tremendous step for Brother O’Bryant, and he served proudly until February 3, 1963.
The Lawton Era
On July 7, 1963, a dynamic young minister from Terrell, Texas by the name of Dr. Eugene Lawton, became the new minister of the Newark Church of Christ. Brother Lawton was a commanding force for the gospel of Christ, and he boldly preached “one Lord, one faith and one baptism,” to save souls and keep souls saved.
During the tumultuous time when the City was nearly leveled by the riots of ‘67 to the renaissance that saw the power of the civil rights movement realized, in the election of President Barak Obama and beyond, Dr. Lawton remained steadfast and unmovable in his leadership.
Under his leadership, the membership grew to 1300 souls and his strategic plans for evangelism created new opportunities.
On June 23, 1973, the Church started its first Radio Program, a 30-minute weekly on station WNJR. In 1976, the mortgage on the building at 894 South 14th was paid off and in 1977, central air-conditioning was installed. 1982,saw the engagement of Brother Leonard Bradley as the first full-time associate minister.
That same year, 80 persons were baptized, and the word continued to spread that there was a Church in the heart of the community where the truth, and nothing but the truth was being preached. The following year 146 people were baptized, the highest number of baptisms in one year in the congregation’s history.
In 1993, an elevator was installed in the building. A year later the Church was blessed with a Cable Television Program on Jersey City Cable. The 30-minute program debuted on Sunday, April 3, 1994. Dr. Lawton fought the good fight of faith, overturning erroneous doctrine and the religious dysfunction of denominationalism.
He taught vacation Bible school as well as weekly Bible Classes, instituted twice-yearly Gospel Meetings, gave birth to the Northeastern Youth Conference, raised over a half million dollars for Southwestern Christian College and baptized over 2000 souls during his 60 years of administration.
Dr.Lawton went to meet his Lord, having completed his journey on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at the age of four score and five. He left an indelible legacy and confirmed that there can be no greatness without vision, commitment, and a willingness to give of oneself for the eternal good of others.
Though the Church has come a long way, the harvest is still full and there is much work for us to do. With God on our side, and our steps ordered by the Lord, we look forward to the journey ahead.
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Our community makes us unique. They have an energy that reverberates around them. Their mission in life is to ensure the wonder in the world is not overlooked.