FMCOG 44th Anniversary Programme May 15, 2022

1

Faith Mission Church of God Headquarters: Pastor Earl King & Pastor Beverly Francis 194-195 Park Avenue, Sydenham, Spanish Town, St. Catherine Email: [email protected] Tel.: 876-856-6030 / 876-322-6975 Brnach: Pastor Richard Samuels Lloyds Pen, Bushy Park, St. Catherine Email: [email protected] Branch: Pastor Basil Maddix Guava Ground, Clarendon Email: [email protected] Branch: Pastor Michael Mitchell London, England 2

Anniversary Message We have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord. It is with much thanks and gratitude that we celebrate our 44th Anniversary as a church. The journey has not been without its fair share of challenges but of certainty, our victories have been numerous. God has never failed in demonstrating and confirming that this is His church that He is building by His love and the gates of hell will never prevail against. As we celebrate this milestone, we thank God for the vision and obedience of our founder, Overseer Teslyn King, all our past and present leaders, workers, members and supporters. Let us continue to build on the legacy, remain in service of each other as unto the Lord because we know our labour will not be in vain. The journey continues… The Executive Board, FMCOG 3

Order of Service Consecration Praise & Worship 1st Scripture Reading – Sis. Grace Ann Francis (Psalm 136) Welcome Prayer of Thanksgiving – Founding & Current Leaders of FMCOG Praise Team Greetings from Lloyds Pen - Pastor Richard Samuels 2nd Scripture Reading – Sis. Cecelia Richardson (1 Kings 8 v 22-29) Prayer of Thanksgiving – Membership Greetings from Guava Ground Praise Team Offertory Period Reading of Report from Sydenham Special Video Presentation: The Journey Continues… Choir Ministry – Voices of Change Ministry of the Word Alter Ministry Cutting of Anniversary Cake 4

Song WE'VE COME THIS FAR BY FAITH We've come this far by faith Leaning on the Lord Trusting in His holy word He never fail me yet Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Can't turn around We've come this far by faith we've come this far by faith Leaning on the Lord Trusting in His holy word He never fail me yet Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Can't turn around We've come this far by faith I will trust in the Lord Till I die I will trust in the Lord Till I die I'm gonna stay on the battlefield till I die I'm gonna stay on the battlefield till I die I'm gonna treat everybody right till I die I'm gonna treat everybody right till I die 5

History of Faith Mission Church of God Faith Mission Church of God is unlike any other when we call to mind how this great ministry began. As told by our late Overseer Teslyn King, during her formative years as an Evangelist, she had been seeking the Lord for direction concerning her ministry. The zeal for winning souls to the Lord was burning in her heart and she understood the call of God on her life. One day while in prayer she had a vision. She saw a woman giving birth to a man child and the voice of the Lord said to her that the church was born. Although she did not know where, when or how, she knew that God had spoken to her. The revelation would come to her sometime while she was travelling on a bus from May Pen to Kingston. There was nothing unusual then about the journey as she had travelled on buses before on the same route. But on this particular day as the bus reached the entrance leading into the community of Feather Bed Lane (off the Old Harbour Road), she got off the bus not knowing the area but knowing God was ordering her steps. And so she fearlessly walked for a while then left the community. Following the leading of the Lord, Overseer King returned to Feather Bed Lane on Sunday May 14, 1978 with a team of 4 other persons. They did door to door evangelism and having received favourable responses from members of the community, an open air service was held the same evening 6

That first evening of service was followed by 10 weeks of nightly services held at a shop piazza. At the end of the 10 weeks, there were 28 converts. Numerous persons from in and around the community attended the services which continued thereafter; miracles were experienced, souls were saved, and lives were transformed. Indeed, a church was born and consequently, a place to worship became necessary. We are thankful for Bro Ivan Richards (now deceased) who consented for us to use one of his empty shops to conduct services. Our first Sunday morning worship service and Sunday School were held on Sunday June 4, 1978. Shortly after, we performed our first baptismal service on Sunday July 23, 1978 where 28 converts were baptized. On October 28 of the same year another 11 converts were baptized. As more persons came to know the Lord along with those who were desirous of receiving fellowship, the space in the shop became inadequate. Again Bro Richards answered the call and allowed us to erect a temporary structure on a portion of his land. The structure was made from board and wire with coconut boughs stuck in between to wire around it. Although the space to worship was now much larger, we were now faced with great challenges from sun and rain as no roof was not yet in place. During this time our morning services were held on the carport and verandah of Bro. Richard’s house. With time, the coconuts boughs which were not durable became dried and had to be replaced as they were no match for the changing weather conditions. 7

With limited financial resources a temporary building was constructed using bagasse board with zinc roof. The heat from the zinc roof during the days proved to be another great challenge but the rich spiritual atmosphere of worship that engulfed the building every time the church met far outweighed the discomfort from the heat. The regular attendance of the brethren and persons from the neighbouring communities was very encouraging. This was evident during the weekly services such as bible studies, prayer meetings and youth meetings. As the membership of the church grew, a name was identified to include the name of the community. This would result in the church being named as Feather Bed Lane Church of God. However, as Overseer King continued to travel back to England, she met Overseer Michael Ramsay who was then the head of World-wide Mission Pentecostal Church of God in London, England. This affiliation would later resulted in our church name being changed to World-wide Mission Pentecostal Church of God. On Sunday March 25, 1979 we had our first fellowship service where 39 persons received the right hand of fellowship. In June 1979, Overseer Ramsay and a team from England made their first visit to Jamaica and on Sunday, June 17, 1979, a thanksgiving service was held to celebrate the first Anniversary of the Church. The Church although still in its infancy stage was having a great impact in Feather Bed Lane and surrounding communities. We saw lives transformed and communities that were once divided were able to enjoy fellowship. 8

Notwithstanding the positive changes that took place between 1979 and 1980, we experienced great fights and struggles which resulted in the loss of souls. Some of the fights and struggles experienced were during the absence of Overseer King who would occasionally return to England to be with her family. But God always sent reinforcement and we never lost a battle. God be praised. We are grateful to God for the brethren from other assemblies who stood with us in those troubled times, who encouraged, fasted and prayed with us. We cannot call all the names but we want to give special recognition to the team from the Redeemed Pentecostal Church of God (Kingston), the late Evangelist Lurline McIntosh, the late Deacon Jackson from May Pen who did our first baptismal service, the team from Good News Release Centre, Iron River, St. Andrew, Pastor Lascelles Palmer and for the many others who shared with us. We are also grateful for persons locally and from overseas who gave of their resources and time in helping to build this ministry. Your assistance has been a tremendous blessing and has not gone unnoticed. On February 6, 1983, we experienced one of our greatest attacks when forces operating through members of two families in Feather Bed Land stoned the church while prayer meeting was in session. Although the enemy raged, we were not defeated and the Lord brought us out with a strong hand and with a stretched out arm. As the church continues to grow, it became apparent that we needed a bigger place to house the church. We began to seek land to purchase in Feather Bed Lane along with the assistance of 9

communities members but this search proved futile. While Overseer King was visiting a family in Sydenham, she heard of a retired member of the community who was found dead at his home. She asked a member of the family whom she was visiting to walk with her to Federal Road where the death had taken place. It was during that visit that she discovered our present location and the rest we now say is history. Discovering these two lots proved to be the answer to our prayers and God provided the resources for us to purchase the land. The move from Feather Bed Lane although painful was of the Lord’s doing. Upon acquiring the 2 lots in Sydenham, in June 1988, the process of our relocation began when we had our first Sunday School on the land. We then constructed a temporary board building and had our first worship service in Sydenham on Sunday, July 3, 1988. However, just two (2) months following our first worship service, we suffered yet another setback in the passage Hurricane Gilbert on Monday, September 13, 1988. This hurricane greatly affected the roof of the building and we had to do some reconstruction. During the reconstruction period, we are grateful to God for those who worked day and night to have the building completed and for Missionary Mavis Samuels and family who allowed us to use their carport and verandah to hold services on Sundays. In addition to the change to a new location, the church also had a change of name as we became an independent body. And so, on the 28th of October 1989 the church was registered as Faith Mission Church of God. 10

The successes of which we are celebrating today cannot be measured or quantified in wealth as the many souls that have come to know the Lord are priceless. Our mission efforts in the early years have taken us to communities such as Paisley, Clarendon, Rose Hall, St. Catherine Sandy Bay, Clarendon, Free Town, Clarendon Gayle, Clarendon, Guava Ground, Clarendon, Top Hill, Clarendon, Lacovia, St. Elizabeth, Grove Farm, St. Catherine and Lloyds Pen, St. Catherine and overseas. Today, the church in Sydenham serves as headquarters with branches in Guava Ground, Lloyds Pen, London and members in the USA and other parts of the world who continues to faithfully serve the Lord. As the mission continues we have heard of the testimonies of many who have relocated to other parts of Jamaica and overseas and their expressions of gratitude to God for the solid foundation that was laid in their lives in the formative years and it is the foundation on which they are still standing. Some are today serving as Pastors and in other areas of ministry. After the dedication and opening of our present church building in May 1994, we opened the door to our first educational facility in 1995 - The Faith Mission Early Childhood Development Centre. Several years after, a Basic School was established at the church in Guava Ground, Clarendon. Unfortunately, the basic school is currently closed but nevertheless, the church continues to invest in the lives of the children and youths in every possible way. On Sunday April 16, 2001 we had our first ordination service with 13 ordinands inclusive of 3 Pastors, 1 Minister, 3 Deacons, 5 Evangelists, 1 Missionary. On Sunday March 23, 2008, 6 persons were ordained, 1 Pastor, 2 Evangelists and 3 Ministers and in April 11

2017, 12 persons were ordained, 3 Ministers, 1 Evangelist, 5 Missionaries and 3 Deacons serving across all local branches. On January 2018, we appointed 1 pastor in the person of Pastor Beverly Francis and in March 2022, one evangelist, two ministers and one exhorter were appointed. As the Lord continue to direct us from time to time seminars and workshops are held which covers a wide range of topics to balance the social and spiritual life of believers and to enhance the growth of the ministry. In all of our many battles and challenges, God would assure us that the battle was not ours but that it belonged to him and for us to be here this morning our 44th Anniversary is a testimony to the fact that this assembly belongs to God and that this is the Church that he has established by His word and the gates of hell shall not prevail. In past years, we have had leadership training courses where upon successful completion participants were awarded certificates. In celebration of our 30th Anniversary we had our first Prayer Breakfast at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston on September 2008. On the 28th day of September, 2015 the Lord saw it fit to take from among us his Servant Overseer Teslyn King, as her assignment on earth was completed. She was a leader with a servant’s attitude, a gentle giant, the epitome of Proverb 31 and one who loves people whole heartedly. 12

We are indeed thankful to God for the rich legacy she has left with us and the impact she has made on the lives of so many locally and overseas. Overseer Teslyn King was one who believed in Education and so in her honour in September 2016 we launched the Teslyn King Education Scholarship Fund and since its inception we have assisted individuals attending school at all levels of the education system; primary, high and tertiary. As a church family, we have experienced the passing of other loved ones but we have also celebrated happy times in marriages, renewal of vow, births and the continued successes and accomplishments of our youths in their various fields of studies. During the onset of the pandemic brought on by Covid -19, we able to launch our Media Ministry which allowed us to remain connected virtually with our members especially during the times of lockdown and when only limited number of persons were able to physically gather in the sanctuary. We were able to convene and broadcast Sunday services, prayer meeting, Bible Study and youth programmes. We are now able to reach members and others across the diaspora as we fulfill the commission to reach the saved and unsaved globally. 13

44th Anniversary 2022 The Journey Continues…. 14