THE GSSFC STORY:
OUR CHURCH FAMILY’S HERITAGE
1981-Present
The rainy and dreary weather of January 31, 1981, did not deter twenty-three persons of like-minded intent from gathering at the Pleasant Mount Gilead Baptist Church. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with assistance from Pastors R. L. Sanders, T. H. Davis and K. K. Wells, this brave band of believers covenanted together to form a fellowship of love, which they named Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church. Joel C. Pullam was chosen as Pastor and Rubie Hazel Brown as Church Clerk.
Joel Charles Pullam, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and a product of that city’s Roy Miller High School, was licensed to preach the gospel by his Pastor, Harold T. Branch. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, May 1974, at Texas A & I University, Kingsville, Texas. He later earned a Master of Religious Education degree (May 1984) from Southwestern Theological Seminary, Fort Worth.
The newly formed Fellowship worshipped in the homes of Marilyn Collins and Olivia Terry. Many planning meetings and prayer vigils were held in the homes of the Orlander Browns and the Joel Pullams until the Bethlehem Center Annex, located in South Fort Worth, was secured for a meeting place. The small group grew steadily and met weekly for worship for approximately two months at the annex until a permanent home was found.
Sunday, March 30, 1981, while on the way to inspect a site on Vaughn Blvd., the Pastor’s attention was drawn by the Holy Spirit to a small church building at 3800 East Berry with a “For Sale” sign prominently displayed. After many prayers and fasts, the site and building were purchased for $28,000.00. On May 5, 1981, the Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church Family occupied their first permanent site.
During our infancy, the membership continued to grow. The newly-acquired building was renovated by the members and made usable for worship and Bible study. Those who had never served before, stepped out in faith and did what their hands found to do. Through the inspired leadership of Pastor Pullam, God wrought much in our midst, and it became necessary to secure another building to be used as our worship center. During this time, an organ and piano were purchased. In June 1984, our Family Night (on Wednesdays) was actualized and the first meal was prepared solely by Pastor Pullam. Since that time our Family Night attendance has increased to an average of over 125. This ministry laid the ground work for our Christian Education emphasis and outreach. Also, during Pastor Pullam’s watch a 16-passenger van was purchased to help facilitate our transportation needs.
Reverend Joel Charles Pullam, the beloved pastor of our fledgling congregation, transitioned from mortal life to life eternal on April 14, 1985.
Led in prayer by Deacon Olander Brown, the membership extended a pastoral call to Dr. Michael “M.A.” Bell on July 30, 1985, after he had served a brief interim period.
Pastor Bell, assumed the reins of leadership in a commendable fashion. In the fall of 1985, our Church’s name was changed to Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church. In October 1985 we purchased the first lot on which our new Church House would eventually be located.
1985-88 were years of growth for our Church family. Much was done by way of land acquisition, planning , and sharpening the focus of our church. “The Sound of the Gospel“, our weekly radio broadcast ministry, was first launched on July 12, 1986, on KSGB 1540 AM, Dallas-Fort Worth, and continued on the air until KSBG became a Spanish-language station.
Our young adult-youth choir, the Rhythmic Choir, dedicated their first robes on November 23, 1986. Stanley Williams became our first part-time compensated (non-musician) staff person in October 1987. He was appointed Administrative Intern for Youth and Children’s Ministries. In 1988,
In 1988, we set out in earnest to conceptualize our building objectives. On December 7, 1988, we had our first-ever capital campaign banquet, in the old fellowship hall, culminating our Giving To Grow Capital Stewardship Campaign. Our Stewardship Campaign goals were: $100,000.00 Victory; $150,000.00 Challenge; and $200,000.00 Hallelujah. Sacrificially, our Church Family pledge gifts exceeding our Challenge goal.
1989 was a pivotal year for our congregation. Throughout the year, preparations were being made to enable us to meet the challenge of actualizing the first phase of our building objective. Actual construction began on phase one in January 1990. God wrought miracle after miracle to bring us to the completion of our Worship/Administration facility and west parking area. On July 1, 1990, our new facility was dedicated. Our entrance service was the following Sunday, July 8, 1990.
God smiled upon our Church Family in faith-building ways in 1991. Our church grew numerically and qualitatively. In December 1991, our second Capital Stewardship Campaign was launched. In this Campaign, members were asked to commit to 104 weeks; in the first capital campaign they were asked to commit to 156 weeks. Our campaign goals were: $80,000.00 Victory; $85,000.00 Challenge; and $90,000.00 Hallelujah. Again, our membership responded by giving of their time, energy, influence, and resources. Our pledges to this campaign exceeded the Hallelujah goal.
Our Church theme for 1992 was “Catch the Vision, Share the Vision!” Some of the years’ highlights were: our First Annual M. L. King Jr. African American Business Expo and Worship Celebration, held on consecutive Sundays, January 12 and 19; our Combined Choir sung, on May 2, at the General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, meeting in Fort Worth; Youth Alive!, our ministry to our youth and children, held its first annual youth retreat in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 19-23; and 269 persons attended our Sunday Bible Study’s Great Day in the Morning on Sunday, October 25.
1993 was a remarkable year for our fellowship! Highlights of the year were: 60 new members added to our Church Family; 245 persons were present in Sunday Bible Study on our October 31st “Great Day in the Morning”; we purchased our first Baby Grand piano; Paul W. Powell conducted our very first Great Commission Revival, September 26-28. Our Second M. L. King Jr. Expo and Worship Celebration was very well attended. Our ‘93 theme, “Actualizing the Vision: God Accomplishing His Will Through Us!”, spoke volumes to our commitment to be the church of God’s design.
1994 was a red-letter year in the life of our Church. We came together and paid off the Giving To Grow note; liquidated the indebtedness on our Baby Grand piano; expanded our ministry to women; began remodeling Building 2 in order to better minister to our youth and children ; initiated our third capital stewardship campaign, Your ABC (Above and Beyond Commitment).
1995 and 1996 were years of steady growth for our congregation. Many new members were added to our Church Family.
Our Churchwide Theme for 1997 was “Altogether Together.” Youth Alive! Hosted their first Youth Conference and Revival. A large number of young people gave their lives to Christ during the event.
“Developing Discipleship Distinctives” was our Annual Theme for 1998. A number of capital improvements were made to our Church Campus. Our radio ministry, “The Sound of the Gospel,” was inaugurated on KJTX 104.5 FM, Jefferson-Tyler-Longview, in June of the year. It is still being broadcast Sundays 7-7:30 A.M.
1998 was a banner year for us. The year’s Churchwide Theme was “Kindling The Vision… Building Disciples By Biblical Blueprints.” Our emphases for the year were: (1) obeying the Great Commission; (2) practical biblical stewardship; (3) following biblical leadership. In May, we expanded our radio ministry to include KHVN 970 AM, Dallas-Fort Worth, Sundays 6-6:30 A. M.
87 new members were added to our Church Family in the year 2000. For the 9th consecutive year, we sponsored the Martin Luther King Jr. Black Business Expo and Worship Celebration. On Sunday, September 17, we added a 7:45 A.M. worship service. The Year’s Theme was “Building People Through A Caring, Sharing Fellowship.” We also launched “United We Build,” a capital stewardship campaign aimed at moving us toward the second-phase of our building objective.
“Being Lighthouse Christians, Becoming A Lighthouse Church” was the Churchwide Theme for 2001. The year was a time of substantive growth. We paid the church note off early in the year (19 years earlier than we were contracted to). Then, we contacted an architect and presented the drawings for the second phase of our building program in early fall.
Our Churchwide Theme for 2002 was “Building A House Of Prayer.” 58 new members were added to our Church Family. The Pastor led our congregation to fast and pray for the entire month of October. Consequently, more persons were added to our membership in October than in any other month. Innovative ministries, such as Single Mom’s Nite Out, Pit Stop Oil Change, and Men Under Construction, continued to grow and improve throughout the year.
“Building Dynamic Disciples” was our Churchwide Theme for 2003. Our Church Family received 53 new additions. In January, the Pastor began leading us to become a “high commitment” church. High Commitment churches project high expectations on its members. Plus, members of high commitment churches run toward not away from ministry opportunities. This paradigm shift helped us to move from the vagueness of good intentions to committed participation. “Membership”, said the Pastor, “is a way of saying, I’m on the team! I share the vision! I’m here to serve with you!” Also, Pastor Bell was elected Chairman of the Tarrant County Board of the American Cancer Society in the spring. He was the first person of color to lead the organization.
The year 2004 was a watershed year for our Church Family. We opened the year with a Week of Prayer & Fasting, January 4-10. Our 2004 Churchwide Theme was “Restoring the Vision Through Disciplemaking.” Centrepiece, our ministry to young adults, was launched in January. Our year-long focus was on hosting events and activities that would invite community participation and involvement. This was accomplished through our M.L. King, Jr. Worship Celebration, HIV/AIDS events, Vacation Bible Xtreme, Church & Community Connection, Health Fair, IronMen Weekend, HallowHim Funfest, and Kwanza Celebration. Pastor Bell was elected first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas on November 9, 2004. 46 new members were added to our Church Family this year.
46 new members were added to our congregation in 2005 and 16 persons were baptized. The 2005 Churchwide Theme was “Sharpening The Church’s Focus On NOW (Nurture, Outreach, Witness).” We held our first ever Leadership Intensive on January 7-8. We renewed our commitment to encourage African American businesses by hosting a Black Business Bizarre on the evening of our Annual M. L. King, Jr. Worship Celebration, January 16. Prophetess Janet Floyd, pastor of New Beginnings Worship Center, was the revivalist for our first Word Encounter, May 23-25. On Sunday, October 23rd, we hosted the opening service of the Brite Divinity School (Texas Christian University) Black Church Studies inaugural Preaching with Power: An Interdenominational Forum on Black Preaching. Pastor Bell chaired the forum. Pastor Bell, was elected President of the Baptist General Convention of Texas during the convention’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, on November 14. He was elected by a 4-1 margin. As the elected leader of the convention, made up 5,700 churches, representing 2.5 million Baptists, Pastor Bell was the first African American to hold the position in the convention’s 120-plus years of existence.
2006 was the Silver Anniversary year of our Church. The year’s theme was “Living Our Faith By Giving Our Time, Our Talent, And God’s Tithes.” Both our Marriage Enrichment Ministry and our Single Adult Ministry was launched early in the year. Also, in early January, the Paul and Maranatha Relational Bible Fellowships (RBFs) of our School of Discipleship were renamed the Otis Swift and Sarah Swift RBFs respectively, bringing the total number of RBFs named for our congregation’s trailblazers to five. The other three are: Rubie Hazel Brown RBF, John Jones RBF, and Wanda Newhouse RBF. Ecclesiastes 12:1, our youth and children’s choir, was started in August. We began our continuing partnership with Kids Hope USA, an adult mentoring program aimed at ministering to at-risk-children, in the Fall. Loving God Back, our 104-week capital stewardship campaign, began on November 29th. Our campaign goals were: $150,000 Foundation Goal; $200,000 Challenge Goal; and $250,000 Celebration Goal. We continued our annual observation of Kwanza on December 29th.
“New Directions” was our 2007 Churchwide Theme. Voices of Excellence, our Young Adult Choir, debuted on January 28, 2007. The annual Rhema Leadership School was held on the first weekend in February. We purchased the 3316 Sydney Street property, just south of the Worship/Administration Building in April 2007. The GSSFC Endowment Fund was established.
2008 was a year of increase for our Church Family. 75 new members were added to our Church Family and there were 17 rededications. We purchased a new church van in July. We hosted the Pre-Convention Rally of the African American Fellowship of Texas in November. Our 2008 Churchwide Theme was “Raising the Roof on our Expectations: Expecting Nothing Less Than God’s Best.”
The Churchwide theme for 2009 was “The Year of Restoration” and we committed anew to trust God to “restore...the years that the swarming locust” had “eaten” (Joel 2:25). Buildings 1 & 2 were demolished and we began renovating the Founders’ Mission House; 3316 Sydney Street. Both Morning Worships were combined and folded into One Big Morning Worship on Homecoming Sunday, July 12. We faithfully continued to “do the work of ministry.” A number of new members were added to our Church Family. In July, Pastor Bell was elected President of the African American Fellowship of Churches, a consortium of 800-plus congregations. In December, he was elected Chairman of Texas Baptists Committed (an organization committed to preserving historic Baptist distinctives within Texas Baptist life.) To date, he is the only African American to have served in that capacity.
“Another Dimension Of God’s Faithfulness” was our Churchwide Theme for 2010! We had a truly memorable year. We successfully hosted the Martin Luther King, Jr. Black Business Bazaar; Buildings 1 & 2 were demolished debt-free; we began renovating the 3316 Sydney Street property, which became the Founders’ Mission House; we gave away almost 500 backpacks filled with School Supplies and right at 500 pairs of shoes in our Back-2-School initiative; and through the faithful giving of our members we liquidated the note on the Founders’ Mission House.
“Reviving, Reclaiming, and Rebuilding to the Glory of God” was the 2011 Churchwide theme. This was a year of steady membership growth and capital improvements. Renovations were completed on both the Carter G. Woodson Children’s Building and the Founders’ Mission House. The note on the Church van was liquidated. A new roof was put on the Worship/Administration Building. New carpet was laid in the sanctuary. A new east sanctuary HVAC unit was installed. A campus surveillance system was installed. The GSSFC Memorial Wall was dedicated.
The Churchwide theme for 2012 was “Crossing Over.” Theme Scriptures were Joshua 3:14 and Mark 4:35. On February 8-9, the Family Life International Fellowship (FLIF) 2012 Bishop’s Leadership College met on our campus. Pastor Bell served as Dean of the College. On Thursday, March 29, at 7 P.M., we hosted the community-wide “Solidarity Rally for Trayvon Martin & Justice for all Regardless of Race Or Ethnicity.” Women of the Word (WOW) held its “Fearless, Courageous, & Wonderfully Made” Women’s Conference on May 18-19. On July 8, as we celebrated our Annual Homecoming, in addition to honoring our Charter Members, we recognized Hervey Bolden, Gladys Howard, Clifford Martin, Wanda Newhouse, Oscar Sutphen and Sarah Swift as Pillars of the Church. Our Annual Church Family Connection, planned and presented by the Joint Body, was accommodated on our campus for the first time on July14. 43 new members were added to our Church Family this year.
"Greater Things" was our 2013 Churchwide theme! For the second year, FLIF's Bishop's Leadership College met on our campus, January 10-11. During the entire month of April we observed a 30-Day Negativity Detox. WOW hosted their Raising the Bar Women's Conference on May 17-18. On Sunday, November 10, we began our 90-Day Tithe Challenge. On Thanksgiving Day, we took dinner to the Homeless and fed over 300. New members were baptized and added to our Church Family - to the glory of God.
2014 was a year of capital improvements to our facilities! Our Churchwide theme was "Better Than Ever!" The theme Scripture was Isaiah 43:19. We celebrated our 33rd Church Anniversary on Sunday, February 9 and recognized Myrtis Barbee, Jowarner Christian, Luther Cole, Darwin Jones, and Martha Morrison as Pillars of the Church. Throughout the year new members were added to our Church Family. The "Sound of the Gospel" radio broadcast was expanded to KWBT 94.5 FM, covering Waco and Central Texas listening area. For the third consecutive year we hosted FLIF's Bishop's Leadership College on March 13-14. By the grace of God and the generosity of our Membership, the maintenance building, which had become a blight, was the demolished; new base boards were put in the Orlander Brown Narthex; renovations were made on the Founders' Mission House; a security fence was erected on the south property line on the west side of Sydney Street; and a new maintenance shed was built and dedicated. Our Pastor was elected Chairman of the Unity in the Community Coalition. On September 27, the Unity in the Community Coalition planned and led a Solidarity march and Rally, with over 1,000 participants.
The Churchwide theme for 2015 was "Growing A Kingdom Culture to Advance God's Agenda." We hosted FLIF's Bishop Leadership College on March 19-20. A projection system with double screens were installed in the sanctuary in March. This system has enhanced our worship experience and has given birth to GSSFCdotTVNews. Our Homeless Outreach Ministry, capably led by Djuana Martin, reported that this year we have over 2,000 snack packs and hot meals; 1,200 items of clothing and shoes; and approximately 500 personal care/toiletry items (these totals don't include the Food Pantry totals.)
"Next Step: Enhancing the Joy of Growth" was the 2016 Churchwide theme. On February 14th, we celebrated our 35th Church Anniversary with a Hymnsing led by Avon Walker, Minister of Music at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois. As part of our Church Anniversary, Elaine Collins, Kathleen O'Neal, and Michael Robinson were recognized as Pillars of the Church. Capital improvements were made to our facilities, including installing two new HVAC units and repaving the west parking lot. iMPACT, our ministry to young adults, hosted a Young Adult Ministry Retreat on January 30. On March 20th, we hosted a Deacon Ordination Service. Youth Alive's Annual HallowHim Funfest was attended by over 400 people. Again, our Homeless Outreach Ministry gave out over 2,000 snack packs!