A VISION 2 GROW
through Christian Commitment in
Evangelism, Faith and Worship
THE HISTORY of
SEIGLE AVENUE FIRST CHURCH OF GOD
The Seigle Avenue First Church of God, formerly the Greenville Church of God, was organized in 1904.
This is How it Happened
Ellen Mitchell, A traveling evangelist and preacher of holiness conducted a revival at Saint Paul Baptist Church and some of the Deacons of Nazareth Baptist Church attended the revival. They were so impressed by the messages she preached on holiness that they invited Ellen Mitchell to preach at their church. The invitation was accepted. During the several nights, she preached at Nazareth Baptist Church eighteen or twenty members of the church confessed to the doctrine of holiness as a new way of life.
Worship Services
W. C. Doe and G. P. Sullivan also introduced the doctrine of holiness to Sylvester Ingram, G. R. Dixon and Maggie Cochrane. This little group left Nazareth Baptist Church, but they had no place to worship. Therefore, they started holding meetings in their own homes or in the homes of their neighbors, and sometimes services were held on the street corners. Usually Sylvester Ingram and Moore Marsh lead worship services. On rare occasions and strictly by invitation, services were held at some church buildings.
The members rented a house on Grove Street for $4.00 a week, but by 1908 the church had outgrown this house. With the help of ministers and members, a building was erected in the Greenville Community at 1203 North Johnson Street in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The first Deacons and Deaconess of the Greenville Church of God were:
W. D. Bailey, Maggie Cochran, Sylvester Ingram, Zylpha McClure and Alexander Quick. The first trustees of the Greenville Church of God were: Charlie Brown, George R. Dixon, Sylvester Ingram, J. T. Love, James McClure, Thomas Peeler, G. P. Sullivan, M. T. Walker and A. D. Walls.
The Greenville Church of God sponsored a meeting in Griertown for about four or five years. The meeting was held in the home of Brother and Sister Lester Stacy. Alexander Quick, a local minister of the Greenville Church of God was in charge of the services.
In 1928 the Greenville Church of God founded Washington Heights Church of God. It is currently called Wilson Heights 1 Church of God; better know as “The Heights”.
Contributions and dates of Pastors who served the Church:
1909 – 1919 G.R. Dixon was the first pastor of the Greenville Church of God. Under his
administration the first church was built.
1919 – 1922 Sylvester Ingram
1923 – 1926 Henry F. Lee
1927 – 1931 William L. Stallin
1931 – 1936 William H. DeLaine
1936 – 1940 Isaac Brooks
1940 - 1963 James McClure remodeled the church, built a multi-purpose building and brick
veneered the exterior of the church.
1964 – 1993 W.D. Bailey was pastor when a new church was purchased in 1972. The Greenville
Church relocated by Model City and became the Seigle Avenue 1 Church of God. The
church was able to pay cash for the new building. However, there was a great amount
of work to be done on the building, especially the interior. A kitchen was added, new
flooring, carpet, central heat and air conditioning and church pews. The bus ministry
began with the purchase of a 1957 station wagon.
1994 – 1995 Angela N. Webb (Interim)
1994 – 1995 Priscilla T. Davis (Interim)
1995 – 1996 Rufus Barnette saw the completion of the renovation of the Pastor’s Dining Room and
the office supply areas. The Praise and Worship team started.
1996 – 1997 Priscilla T. Davis served as lead associate minister during a pastoral change.
1998 – Present
Daryle J. Garner, with a heart for the church as well of the community, and a “Beyond the Walls” vision was called to pastor the congregation after returning from a two and half year stay in Bethlehem, PA where his call to the preaching ministry was confirmed at Shiloh Baptist Church in Easton, PA by the late Rev. Fred Davis. Under Pastor Garner’s administration the Outreach Ministry is thriving with “FireFest”, as well as, the Brotherhood and D.O.V.E. Women’s’ Fellowship Ministry. Pastor Garner’s vision for the church is a “Vision 2 Grow. . . through Christian commitment in Evangelism, Faith and Worship”. Our mission supports impacting the kingdom with our mantra “Find them, Win them, Build them and Send them”.
Sunday School and Vacation Bible School The first Sunday School was organized in 1904 through W. C. Doe and G. P. Sullivan. Moore Marsh was the first Superintendent of the Sunday School. For several years the church school convened at 1:00 p.m., but in later years the Sunday School hour was changed to 9:45 a.m. The materials used for the school were the Bible and literature from the Gospel Trumpet Publishing House then located at Moundsville, West Virginia.
In 1947, Hattie Gabriel organized the first Vacation Bible School. Hattie Gabriel was director and she was assisted by Maggie Cochrane, Zylpha McClure, and Zetta Henderson. Three teachers from another church gave sacrificial service in the Church School. They were Alice McKinsley, Rev. Caldwell and Mrs. Will Johnson. Materials for Arts and Crafts were donated by department stores of the city. Mrs. Will Johnson and grocers donated the refreshments for the Vacation Bible School. In latter years, Rachel Ford Brown served as director for many years until the mantel moved to Sister Bobbie Mickles Scott until her death. In more recent years Reverend Rosilynn Noble has carried the challenge of insuring Vacation Bible School remains an impacting experience in the lives of our youth.
Prayer Service The Prayer Service was organized by W. C. Doe and G. P. Sullivan in 1904. The Prayer Service was held on Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. The service consisted of prayers, Bible reading, singing and testimonies. We continue to hold prayer service and Bible study on Wednesday nights called “Hour of Power”; the time is now 7:00 p.m.
Young Peoples Work There were a number of clubs organized between 1934 and 1953. Those clubs worked to help the Church through many financial problems. The clubs that were organized are as follows: Zetta Henderson organized the Saint Luke Juvenile Club in 1934. It was for boys and girls between the ages of three and twelve. The main objectives were to foster the building of Christian character and to increase the Sunday School attendance. Members of the club were required to attend Sunday School each Sunday.
Crissie Davidson also organized the Merry Matron Club in1934. Its purpose was to give young women an opportunity to participate in the community; and to build Christ-like character. Many of those club members became members of the church.
Between 1948 and 1953 Carrie Nail organized the Young Women’s Christian Club. Its purpose also was to give young ladies an active part in church work. Some of the faithful members of the Christian Club were Rachel F. Brown, Jeanette Brown, Jessie Q. Cunningham, Elizabeth Ford, Harriet N. Glover, Margaret C. Lothorp, Kathryn C. Reid and Salome Williams.
Women’s Work From the beginning, women of the church played a very important part in helping to organize and establish the work of the church. They visited the sick and helped the underprivileged women who did not have homes to live in. They witnessed to the truth throughout the community, on their jobs or whenever the opportunity presented itself. Opportunities for women still exist in various ministries. In 2001, our First Lady, Minister Gloria Glover Garner founded D.O.V.E.3 (Daughters of Victory Everyday through the Father, Son and Holy Ghost) Women’s’ Fellowship, an ecumenical ministry to encourage all women to discover their unique spiritual gifts and to use them in the body of Christ.
The Choir Sam Davis was the music teacher and taught the choir to read music. The directors of the choir were A.D. Walls, Crissie Davidson, James McClure, Hattie Gabriel, Zeta Henderson and T.E. Humphrey. The hymnals of the Church of God were used.
The pianists were Ruth Crawford, Carolyn B. Boulware, Elly C. Gordon and Crissie Davidson. Other pianists have been Beverly Nail, Deborah Woodson, Gwendolyn Powell, Julie Scott, Runette Johnson, Tyshawne Singleton, Loren Mason and Chris Wilson.
The Music Department at Seigle Avenue has expanded from the piano to also include other instruments, such as the drums currently played by Cliff Moore. The Praise and Worship Team was birthed by our First Lady, Minister Gloria Garner in 1996 and William “Chris” Wilson joined us to serve as Lead Musician in 1999 to the present.
He continues to faithfully serve and his ministry is a blessing. Under Chris’s direction the Praise Team, other musicians, and well as the Kara Dance Ministry which was birthed by Minister Sharion Brandenburg continues to be a blessing to the body of Christ.
Although there have been changes in the name of the church and its leadership, the church has remained strong in upholding the doctrine associated with the “Reformation Movement.”
Renovated Building
In 1972, the Greenville 1 Church of God led by Pastor W. D. Bailey moved to 1620 Seigle Avenue began another journey for the church to continue impacting the members and a new community. In 1998 renovations began. The sanctuary under went construction of new interior walls, stain glass windows were installed, and refinishing the fellowship hall, bathrooms and kitchen. The church’s crowning point was the erection of its first steeple in 2002 with the entire side parking area paved and the property fenced.
In 2008 through 2009, changes continued in the community of Belmont. The City of Charlotte earmarked more than $20 million dollars to street improvements, home ownership, new townhouses and apartment buildings in the neighborhood; the church will be undergoing our own face-lift. The church was given renderings to show the projected changes before they began. During the next 18 months, the main thoroughfare on Seigle Avenue was widened to
accommodate biking lanes, and the frontage of the church and all the homes along Seigle Avenue were changed to accommodate a new look for the church and community. Major structure additions were completed to the church’s front plaza area. The frontage of the church was widened and stairs leading from the plaza were added as an additional entrance. The beautification did not stop with the front plaza because throughout the front side of the church, iron railing neatly boarded the entire area.
In 2011, the congregation has continued the emphasis on change with many ambitious projects to be completed by year-end which involves completing the paving the surrounding parking around the church, re-installing interior chair lifts and modernizing the sound & media technology to enhance the teaching and preaching ministries of the church.
Beyond the Walls Ministry
With a Sound Ministry in place since 1997, the church embarked on a radio outreach ministry in 2001and has presented the gospel every Sunday morning on various Charlotte stations. Currently, the Church has enjoyed partnering with Word Net since 2003 in presenting “Willing Servant” broadcast. The church is in the midst of change in the method evangelism. In 2011, our radio outreach ended with our new direction of establishing an effective web-evangelism focus. The reshaping of our church website gives us the capacity to stream our morning messages to reach people that may not have an opportunity to experience our morning service. In addition, since 2004, our yearly outreach “Fire Fest” has reached out to neighbors and strangers. It was shaped by the compassion and vision of Reverend Vera Carroll. Our clear mission is to show the love of Christ and evangelize the spiritually lost. Through Fire Fest, we have reached over +850 people and have seen many people blessed, encouraged and saved from sin.
Today the church’s ministries number +10. They are formed to help, build up, encourage, and equip individuals, the community, and our church fellowship. The staff at the church consists of Senior Pastor Daryle J. Garner, First Lady Minister Gloria Garner, Reverend Roz Noble, Reverend Vera Carroll, Minister Mark Bethune, Minister Tammie Bethune, Minister Darnell Davis, Minister Sharion Brandenburg, Minister Jerry Hosey and Minister Rita Massey. Each minister is involved in ministry at the church and some serve in other community or Para-church organizations. We ask for your continued prayers as we prepare to move forward in serving you, the body of Christ.