THE GREATER JACKSONVILLE CHURCH OF GOD/ THE MASTER’S TOUCH MINISTRY

CHURCH HISTORY

During the past 51 years, we find ourselves remembering and sharing bits and pieces of what has become, to most of us, a remarkable experience. Testimonies and recollections, records, and other paraphernalia are in constant feed into our sources of historical accounts so that someday, a detailed, thorough history of the Greater Jacksonville Church of God, its people, its ministry, and its victories can be effectively written.

No congregation should ever forget from where it has come, the lives given, the sacrifices made, the personalities who blazed the first trails, the struggles, the temporary defeats, and the great moments of triumph. We are all workers together with God, and we each have a place. The church does not start when we arrive, but there have been others before us whom God used and anointed, magnifying their gifts and talents as they paved the way clearer, leaving us a legacy we can be godly proud of.

God works through people. He surfaced the apostolic gift of the late Rev. John O. Laster, Jr. to establish three area churches of God: the New Kings Road Church (currently New Life Church Of God) in 1969 (the work continues to thrive under the former leadership of Pastor Joseph B. Watts and current Pastor, Dr. Tywanna Estell); the Greater Jacksonville Church of God in 1973; and later the Greater Fernandina Beach Church of God in 1976. When God anoints a plan, He chooses a leader, empowers them, and sets them to the task. Under Rev. Laster’s inspired leadership, starting with nothing, Soutel Drive seemed to be the challenge to meet all challenges. A hollow storefront was rented in early February 1973 at 4818 Soutel Drive. On March 12, 1973, 13 adults and young people met for the first time to officially incubate the operation of the Greater Jacksonville Church of God. The first services were held on March 18, 1973. We rented 50 chairs because we did not have any of our own, and we borrowed Joyce Campbell’s piano, moving it to the storefront that first Sunday morning, and still did not have anyone to play. It turned out to be quite a day. Our first Sunday offering totaled $87.85!

God blessed, the church grew, and the miracles came one after another. In just a few months, God swept the growing church down the street to 4510 Soutel Drive, its present location on two acres of property. In the fall of 1973, Sis. During our first youth day fellowship, Eugenia Jackson (Nellon) and her family visited this new work. She felt the Lord was leading her to join this fellowship. After returning to her home in Carolina, Sis. Jackson quit her teaching job and moved her entire family to Jacksonville, becoming our first musician.

In 1976, the church purchased an additional 8 acres of property. Also, in June 1976, the church began an inspired missionary work in Fernandina Beach to establish an Evening Light Church of God. Canvassing the streets, holding temporary Wednesday services at Macedonia AME Church, and later, in March 1977, amidst its financial struggles, moving in faith, the church purchased the property at 305 South 4th Street to give the new infant, Greater Fernandina Beach Church of God and established home. The saints on Soutel Drive nurtured and directed the new Fernandina Beach congregation well into many months, both financially and spiritually, until it could handle its own church responsibilities. Greater Fernandina Beach Church of God is a thriving, growing congregation in the Fernandina Beach area under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Jeanette Richo and co-leadership of Rev. Dr. Deloris Richo.

Rev. John O. Laster, Jr. was called home with the Lord on October 23, 1980. As the Lord would have it, Rev. Barry L. Reid assumed leadership as pastor in November 1980. How do you describe a young man with such “big” shoes to fill in a ministry that God Himself ordained, except to reflect on the story of Elijah and Elisha? Elisha (Rev. Barry L. Reid) followed the Lord’s path as Elijah (Rev. John O. Laster, Jr.) did: ministering, teaching, serving, and doing God’s will. “When they were gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee.” And Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” God answered Elisha’s prayer! As he watched Elijah being translated, Elijah’s mantle fell, and “He (Rev. Reid) took up the mantle of Elijah.” (II Kings 2:9).

Rev. Barry L. Reid was a scholar, a man dedicated to God and His people. He spent hours searching the scriptures, determined to teach the Word of God so that even the smallest child could understand it, and counseling God’s people and those who were not a part of this fellowship. He lived and preached “commitment,” a legacy he left with those of us who remain. Under Pastor Reid’s ministry, the challenge to glorify God as an effective witness sharpened. Focusing on new ministries such as Body Ministry Visitation, Social Concerns, Vision Development, and emphasizing stewardship, the church grew spiritually, financially, and numerically. Additional properties were purchased, as well as a rare Christian Film Library.

On March 31, 1994, Rev. Barry L. Reid went home to be with the Lord. Across the miles, in Birmingham, Alabama, Rev. Patricia J. Cooper (served as associate minister under Rev. Barry Reid), a chosen vessel, accepted the charge of leading Greater Jacksonville Church of God to the next spiritual plateau. As interim pastor, Rev. Patricia J. Cooper encouraged and equipped the saints for nearly two years, feeding them the Word of God and demonstrating that there is no distance in love. She traveled many miles over the highways and skyways, sometimes every week, depending on the need. She communicated with the saints via telephone and correspondence when she could not be present. How did she do it? God! Remember, when God chooses a leader, He empowers him (her) and sets him (her) to the task.

On April 1, 1996, Rev. Rene Evans, Jr., officially became pastor of Greater Jacksonville Church of God. From Chicago, Illinois, to Jacksonville, Florida, Rev. Evans, “a man with a burning desire for God to use Him,” has challenged each ministry to “turn it up a notch” in praise and worship; he preaches intensely on evangelism, “each-one reach-one,” “get out of the house;” “the real work of the church is beyond these walls.” Rev. Evans has been involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice. He established C.H.A.R.M.S (Churches Helping At-Risk Students by Mentoring in Schools), partnered with Communities in Schools Jump Program, and provided volunteer services to the CIS (Communities in School). One of his favorite expressions is, “I want to make a mark for the Lord. I don’t want be ordinary, but extraordinary.”

On April 1, 2004, Rev. C. Denise Phelps, God’s elect lady, officially became the pastor of the Greater Jacksonville Church of God. Influenced by the transforming effects of the Word on her mom, Ruby Ceil Bomar, and the genuine love and care of God’s people, Rev. C. Denise Phelps and First Gentlemen Joseph Phelps became church members in 1989.

Content to sit midway in the sanctuary. Little did she know then that God had other plans. Although she would have her Moses moments and her Gideon moments, she yielded to God’s will. The Lord, using the gentle nudge of her buddy (Sis. Evelyn Laster) and the release of gifts under Rev. Patricia Cooper, Rev. Denise Phelps accepted her call to the ministry in 1995.

Building upon the contributions of our former pastors but blazing her own path, Rev. Phelps expanded our prison ministry reach to Lowell Correctional Institute for Women in Lowell, Florida, developed a 103-space paved parking lot in 2007, and in 2009 changed the name from the Greater Jacksonville Church of God to The Master’s Touch Ministry. In June of 2024, God called Rev. Kevin R. Osbourne from Brooklyn, New York, to be our fifth pastor. The process to change the church’s name to Greater Jacksonville Community began. The name change accomplished two things. First, it reflected the mission and vision of the church to be a beacon of hope, help, and healing to the community for which it was called to serve. Second, it reflected back to the original intent of the founding pastor and charter members in 1973. Revs. Kevin and Tatum Osbourne are poised to lead Greater Jacksonville Community Church into its God-ordained future.