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 The vision began with a calling from God and was implanted in the heart of a servant who had more than proven his worthiness and faithfulness in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as God led his apostle Phillip from a great revival in the city of Samaria into the desert at Gaza to witness to an Ethiopian eunuch, God also led a man who had been blessed to pastor a prosperous, soul-winning church, to begin a mission in an old, run-down abandoned house in the middle of town. This man did not complain that the direction and plans for his life were suddenly being changed: neither did he question God why. On December 13, 1972, spurned by a firm conviction that God would allow him to see the vision transpire, this servant submitted his resignation as pastor to his congregation, and on December 31, 1972, delivered to them his last sermon.

 With no assurance of acceptance from the community, with no encouragement from the civic or ‘religious’ leaders of the city, and with no identified means of financial support, this man stepped out with unwavering confidence that the vision was inspired by God himself, and embraced the faith that God would direct and supply all of the church’s needs. Driven by a desire to see lost souls come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior, this faithful servant wholeheartedly grasped the vision and, on the first Sunday of January 1973, through the direction, anointing, and blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ, the old, run-down, abandoned house at the corner of Denham Street and Tomlinson Avenue was transformed into a Missionary Baptist Church. Yes, the vision began with a calling from God: And the visionary was Pastor J.S. New.