OUR HISTORY
Our Church HistoryÂ
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.Â
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. Â