Church History

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Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

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Church History

Jesus promised that where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I will be in the midst of them. And so it was on that December evening in 1924 when a few people gathered in worship in the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Kirkwood with Elder G. H. Harlee . Rev. A. G. Smith was the first pastor, serving from December 7, 1924 through April 1, 1925. In 1930, Rev. Moses Johnson was sent as pastor, and led the church in building it's first house of worship. Worship services were held in the Warren Avenue Methodist Church while the new church was being constructed. For several years, they struggled to develop and grow, both organizationally and structurally. After a few years, the church structure was fully in place and the first officers were elected. The first Stewards and Trustees were Bro. F. W. Kirkwood, Bro. Ben McGowan and Bro. Issac Jackson. The first Superintendent of Sunday School was Bro. Ben McGowan, and the first Missionary President was Sis. F. W. Kirkwood.

Under the pastorate of Rev. D. L. Gardener, the church erected the facility located at 2301 Jordan Street. Later, under the leadership of Rev. J. B. Bullock, an annex was added to this structure. The Temple continued to grow, and a parsonage was purchased during the pastorate of Rev. R. C. Mask. Under the leadership of Rev. N.B. Steward, the church purchased it's present facility. In 1963, under the pastorate of Rev. V. T. Thompson, the present structure was remodeled. In July of 1975, Rev. W. Edward Lockett was sent to lead the Temple. Under his leadership, the church purchased the present parsonage, several pieces of property, and paid off several debts. The mortgage was burned and a major renovation project was undertaken during the pastorate of Rev. D. H. Coleman.

In 1994, God sent a visionary leader in the person of Dr. Jerry L. Christian, Sr. to head the Temple. Discipleship and outreach programs have soared under Dr. Christian's leadership, including the juvenile jailhouse ministry, adopt-a-school program, Jubilee Aide food and clothing services, homeless ministries, stork's nest ministries, home alone ministries and many others. In addition, church growth has been fostered by regular bible study and Fifth Sunday neighborhood fellowships. Under Dr. Christian's inspired leadership, an annual church retreat was implemented to formulate and evaluate long-term strategies for ministries and church growth. Always an encouraging and challenging leader, Dr. Christian has guided the Temple in establishing an annual youth and children's banquet, organizing the Brotherhood and Wondrous Grace groups and becoming active in Dallas Area Interfaith. During Dr. Christian's short tenure, the Temple has also restructured the finances to improve cash flows and reduce interest payments by consolidations of loans.

God has truly showered us with His blessings and caused our cups to run over with meaningful worship, worthy discipleship and continuous growth.

Pastors serving Kirkwood Temple

1	Rev. A. G. Smith	12/24 - 04/25
2	Rev. S. Radford	04/25 - 05/25
3	Rev. G. H. Harlee	05/25 - 11/27
4	Rev. D. M. Sales	11/27 - 11/29
5	Rev. J. B. Lewis	11/29 - 11/30
6	Rev. Moses Johnson	11/30 - 11/31
7	Rev. W. J. Johnson	11/31 - 07/32
8	Rev. E. J. Johnson	07/32 - 08/32
9	Rev. J. W. Hendrix	08/32 - 11/32
10	Rev. L. Allen	11/33
11	Rev. E. J. Johnson	11/34
12	Rev. P. C. Smith	11/34 - 11/37
13	Rev. J. L. Enox	11/37 - 11/39
14	Rev. T. T. Gee	11/39 - 11/40
15	Rev. A. C. Jordan	09/41 - 11/41
16	Rev. T. T. Gee	11/41
17	Rev. D. L. Gardener	1941 - 1944
18	Rev. J. B. Bullock	1944 - 1947
19	Rev. W. J. Johnson	1947 - 1948
20	Rev. R. R. Northcutt	1948 - 1951
21	Rev. R. C. Mask	1951 - 1955
22	Rev. C. R. Thomas	1955 - 1959
23	Rev. N. B. Stewart	1959 - 1962
24	Rev. V. T. Thompson	1962-1975
25	Rev. W. E. Lockett	1975 - 1978
26	Rev. E. L. Wade	1978 - 11/81
27	Rev. W. A. Schultz	11/81 - 01/82
28	Rev. D. H. Coleman	01/82 - 07/94
29	Dr. W. C. Champion	07/94 - 08/94
30	Dr. Jerry L. Christian	08/94 - Present

Presiding Elders

1	Rev. G. H. Harlee, Sr.
2	Rev. A. F. Johnson
3	Rev. N. W. Clark
4	Rev. E. P. Murchinson
5	Rev. J. M. Fountain
6	Rev. R. J. Rucker
7	Rev. I. B. Brooks
8	Rev. M. T. McKinney
9	Rev. J. E. Raines
10	Rev. G. A. Simpson
11	Rev. J. B. Bullock
12	Rev. J. L. Enox
13	Rev. George Patterson
14	Rev. J. B. Bullock
15	Rev. L. Rucker
16	Rev. J. B. Bullock
17	Rev. J. C. Darden
18	Rev W. A. Price
19	Rev. J. C. Darden
20	Rev. W. A. Schultz
21	Rev. E. F. Williams
22	Dr. W. C. Champion

Bishops

1	Bishop J. C. Martin
2	Bishop J. W. McKinney
3	Bishop R. A. Carter
4	Bishop H. P. Porter
5	Bishop B. W. Doyle
6	Bishop N. S. Curry
7	Bishop C. D. Coleman
8	Bishop Marshall Gilmore

Charter Members

Mrs. M. E. Kirkwood

Mrs. Josephine Barnes

Mrs. Willie Mae Banks

Mrs. Anna Patton

Mrs. Ethel Patton

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