“Emmanuel Baptist Church to Observe 94th Anniversary”
October 14,2008
Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1075 Shalimar Drive, will observe its 94th Church Anniversary, beginning with a fellowship celebration on Saturday, October 18, and culminating with the Worship Service on Sunday, October 19th 2008.
The Rev. Timothy Stewart of Bethel Baptist Church, Nassau, Bahamas, is the speaker for the Sunday morning worship service. The anniversary theme is “Living by Faith”, and based on II Corinthians 5:7 and
Hebrews 1:1-2.
“I heard the voice of Jesus say…” Thus begins one of the old Negro hymns sung many times by the tiny group of believers, who began meeting for Wednesday evening Bible classes and prayer. The seeding of the Emmanuel Baptist Church began years ago in the year of our Lord 1914. The church started as a mission, holding prayer services in a rented house in the 1300 block of Excelsior Street.
They felt the need for a Church in the Columbia Heights community, and as their numbers grew, they began to have Sunday school and Worship Service twice a month. Emmanuel has been blessed to have many mighty men of God serve as Pastors down through the years, and in 1950, Rev. S.W. Mack Sr., a native of Winston-Salem and youngest pastor to date of the church, took the helm, and with continuous prayer the members began to realize the full potential of their name Emmanuel meaning “God with us”. Rev. Mack served for 32 years before going on to glory in 1982.
Emmanuel has felt the impact of God's continued presence with the visionary Pastorate of Rev. John Mendez and his leadership has increased both the Church membership and outreach. Under his administration, Emmanuel has developed a heightened awareness of the moral responsibility to become more involved in ministering to the social needs of the community as well as national and international issues.
We thank GOD for HIS blessings and celebrate HIS love and providence in guiding us into another successful and productive year we acknowledge HIM humbly from our beginnings and all days thereafter. We praise GOD for HIS wondrous works and thank HIM for all HIS blessings!
The celebratory activities will kick-off on Saturday with a Family Prayer Vigil at 4:00 pm, where specific needs will be taken up in prayer.
Immediately following the vigil, a fellowship dinner will be held during which time a musical play, “Highway to Heaven” will be presented.
The celebration continues on Sunday, with Rev. Timothy Stewart at the 10:00 a.m. Worship Service.
Rev. Stewart attended Prince William Baptist High School, the American Baptist College, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. While at the American Baptist College, Pastor Stewart obtained a BA in Bible and Theology with a minor in History and Social Science. He then pursued a Master of Divinity Degree in Theology with a concentration in Preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but was called home to Pastor Bethel Baptist Church before completing his degree. He has served on numerous boards; as 2nd Vice President for the Bahamas National Baptist Missionary & Educational Convention from 2002-2006; as Historian and appointed as International President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention(2003-2006) with responsibility for some three thousand churches in Africa, Europe, Haiti and Cuba. Pastor Stewart is the Moderator for the Bethel Baptist Association, and has embarked on a program to strengthen member churches throughout the family of islands
Bethel Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist Church in the Bahamas, and the oldest continuing Baptist Church in the Caribbean. Through the help of God, Pastor Stewart and the church have been able to accomplish many ministries that sustain and uplift the members off the church and the community at large. Those ministries include a team of full-time ministers and administrative staff persons to effectively minister to the congregation and community at-large; the Bethel Baptist Church Cooperative Credit Union; Bethel’s Soup Kitchen; a Senior Saints Ministry that meets once per week to minister to the needs of the elderly, and numerous other Ministries.
The celebration is open to the public. For more information, contact the church office at 336-788-7023.