We thank God for everything. We thank God this church  known as the True Church of God in Christ of the Apostles’  doctrine and faith. We believe and teach what the apostles  believed and taught. The bible says ‘left I thee in Crete, that  thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and  ordain elders in every city. If any be blameless, the  husband of one wife.’ We believe that in The True Church  of God in Christ and we are teaching our ministers. As the  bible says we should all be taught of God; therefore, we  speak as we have been taught. We have been taught as  the scripture says that he put some in the church as  apostles, pastors and teachers to perfect the church. This  is what we are urging our ministers to do here in the True Church of God in Christ- to obey the bible and to do our best, with the Lord’s help, to perfect the church like the Lord has said for us to do. We are preaching the gospel to all the people…the sinners, saints and everyone else to come to God because when God comes back to get the church, he’s coming to get saints. The church that he comes back to get is one that is complete. He’s coming back to get a church not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that the church should be holy and without blemish.

Bishop Oprie Jeffries

True Church Overseer

 

 

 Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I thank God for our past Bishops, W. L.  Lucas, W. F. Lucas  and B. J. Lawson. I give honor to our present  administration, my pastor, Bishop and General Overseer,  Bishop O. Jeffries, Chairman of the Board of Elders, Elder  H. P. Taylor, our Superintendent of Sunday Morning Bible  School, Elder E. Robinson Jr., host of Elders, Ministers,  Deacons, Brothers and their wives. To our General Mother,  Mother M. Jeffries, our assistant General Mother, Mother  C. Boyd, all our Mothers, Sisters, children, saints and  friends. Special honor to my wife of 35 years, Sister  Barbara Jones. It is indeed an honor to be in God’s  number. I thank God how I was taught the gospel by our late Bishop Lawson. Bishop Lawson often spoke about Bishop Lucas and our present Bishop Jeffries. While Bishop Lawson’s death was a great loss, my confidence level did not shift, because Bishop Jeffries was already highly recommended by Bishop Lawson and others. I’m glad for God’s one church and one plan for salvation. The scripture lets me know as a pastor and a preacher that we should all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among us; but that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement (I Corinthians 1:10). Oh I feel like preaching. We all must come back to the bible. Get God’s Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth, if we want to make it into God’s kingdom. It is time out for playing church. It is late in the evening. The night is far spent; the day is at hand (Romans 13:12). One of these days we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Let us be ready. In the words of our late Bishop Lawson, let us think, watch and pray.

 

God Bless You,

 

I would like to give special recognition to Elder E. Buico, his wife and family, to the Ministers and their wives and families and to all of the saints in the Philippines. I thank God for blessing me to be a part of our 1st General Assembly in the Philippines. I would like to thank each of my brothers and sisters for your unstinting kindness shown to Elder Adams, Sister Jackie, Brother Nate, Sister Barbara and myself during our stay in General Santos City. We love you and may God continue to keep you.

Elder Marvin Jones Sr.
General Superintendent
Pastor of Augusta & Burke County

 

 

 

 

I thank God for the gospel and I thank God for this church. This church in particular because this church is where God has really revealed the importance of the word through Bishop Lucas and of course, Bishop Lawson, Bishop Jeffries and all the rest.They have pressed upon me how important the word be first in your life, in your thinking and everything. Of course that is my testimony that I’m learning how to make the word flesh in my flesh and that is so important, I think, for success in living a righteous life. Folks have controversy, I say, with the word because they are not letting the word do the work. They are trying to do it and you can’t do that. So the whole idea for me is to let the word have its perfect work in my life. That is my whole desire and my whole aim is to become more like the word and to let the word form me into the things that make me in his image and after his likeness so that I might do the job that God has prescribe, describe and assigned for me to do. I realize that I can’t do it without the word. The Bible says ‘without me you can do nothing’ and then above that it says ‘ye are cleaned through the word that I’ve spoken to you.’ So that is what I want to do, to get cleaned up with the word. To let the word clean me up and wash me to the point where I’m suitable to perform the task that is set before me.

 

Elder Gary Battle

Chairman of the Board of Elders

Pastor of McDonough Mission

Assisting at Lucas Temple

 

 

 

 

I thank God for our great Bishop Oprie Jeffries, apostle and general overseer of the True Churches of God in Christ, Inc. and his wife, our general Mother Mozelle Jeffries.  Thank God for our general superintendent, Elder Marvin Jones, his wife and family, and Elder Taylor, chairman of the Elders Board, his wife and family.  I thank God for being on the Lord’s side and how he saved me at a young age.  Many thought I would be a drug addict all hooked up on wine and beer, but thank God how he came along and made a change in my life.  I’m a witness today if God can pull me out of the world and save me from the damnation that I was in, he can save anyone.  All you have to do is open up your heart and  mind to let him in and give God a chance in your life.  He is the only one who is going to be able to save you in that great day.  People, I’m telling you now we are living in the last day.  Can you see all the trouble that is in the land?  It signifies the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In order to be ready to meet him in that day, you must be born again.  Born of  the water and of the spirit.  You must be baptized in the name of  Jesus Christ.  I know many say they are baptized in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost.  But that is not what the Christ told us to do.  I’m a father because I have eight children.  But that is not my name.  I’m a son because my father begotten me, but yet that is not my name.  The Holy Ghost is a spirit that lives within in, but that is not my name.  My name is Elder Emmit Robinson, Jr. and all those things are in this one body.  Just like it was with Jesus Christ.  So you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  Peter declared in Acts, the second chapter that there is no other name given unto men whereby we must be saved except by the name Jesus Christ.  I’m telling you today my friend if there’s ever been a time that the world ought to accept him, now is the time.  Because we are headed into some troublesome time and we are going to need Jesus by our side.

 

Elder Emmit Robinson Jr.
Sunday School General Superintendent
Pastor of Savannah

 

 

 

 

I always want to first give honor to the glory of God for blessing me with my life, health, and strength and also for allowing me to come to the knowledge of the truth. I’m also thankful for my wonderful family. I have a wife of 22 years with a blessing of 6 and proud grandpa. I also am so pleased to have known men like our late Bishops Lucas and Lawson. Men who expounded on the truth of God's word and encouraged me and others to always preach the gospel regardless to whether people like it or not. I can remember when I first started in the ministry in 1992, how I started traveling to Tennessee preaching the word of the Lord. I can remember in one ministers meeting Bishop Lucas telling the board of preachers that Minister Adams is an Evangelist. I held those words dear to my heart and said to myself that I would with the grace and help of the Lord  prove those words to be true. I can say I believe I did so, and I can say that the Lord has blessed me. He gave me much boldness to not only go to Tennessee, but to Michigan, (where we still have members) Milwaukee, not to mention Jamaica and Africa. I'm reminded that if God be for you who then can be against you. Even after Bishop Lucas died, Bishop Lawson encouraged me to continue forward. With his leadership and drive to work, things just magnified even more. I then sought out and purchased a building for worship in Austell Georgia and the church is thriving today.  I was sent to the Philippines to meet a preacher by the name of Elder E. Buico. By the grace of God we now have 14 churches thriving today. A vision that Bishop Lucas had and one that Bishop Lawson made come to light. By the grace of God, I can say, I have traveled across the seas to preach the word of the Lord. I feel that the Lord has more work for me to do, whether near or far I am always pleased to do work for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Before I close my testimony, I have to say I thank God for my wife who has supported me greatly. She arranged a lot of my travels. For example,  my tickets and hotel reservations and yes sometimes she travels with me, as Priscilla did with her husband Aquilla. I guess that's why Solomon said in Proverbs ”He that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor with the Lord”. With that being said I am richly blessed and thank God for the Holy Ghost that he has so freely shared with those of us who walk in his word. I request the prayers of the righteous and I too will be praying for you. 

 

Elder Gregory Adams, Sr. 
Pastor of Deliverance Temple

Asst. Sunday School General Superintendent
Senior Pastor of Phillippines

 

 

 

This is the True Church of God in Christ of the Apostles’ Faith and Doctrine.  We thank God for how the Lord has blessed us and being in the land of the living.  We give honor to him, the Lord Jesus Chris who is the head of the Universe and the Creator of all mankind.  We thank God for the one plan of salvation.  God gave this plan to the apostles--The Holy Apostles, and  they  preached  the gospel of Christ. This is what we stand on today; we stand on the Apostle’s doctrine.  We thank God for the Truth.  The Bible says to know the truth and the truth shall make us free.  If we want to be free, we have to obey God’s word and to abide by his word. To obey the truth and the truth shall make us free.  I’m glad for the love of God and how God’s love has shared abroad his riches, his grace and mercy.  We thank God for it.  We thank God for our Bishop Oprie Jeffries, the general overseer and our superintendent, Elder Marvin Jones.  We also thank God for my late pastor Elder Taylor.  We thank God for all the holy elders and ministers, the saints, brothers and sisters, who make up this great body of Christ – the Church.  The church is a band of baptized believers in Christ.  We believe in living right.  We believe in one plan, one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism.  Everybody got to go by the same plan.  God didn’t come in and give two and three plans.  God just have one plan for salvation.   The plan is for everybody.  The plan is ordained from heaven that we should be holy; to live a holy and dedicated life unto the Lord. 

 Elder Clay Andrews
Pastor of Henderson Temple & Shaw Temple

 

 

 

First of all I want to give honor to the spirit of Christ who is the head of my life.

Truly I thank God most of all for the word.  The word of God that Bishop Lucas taught me, thank God, I found in my heart.  He told me to come out from among them and be separated and I separated myself. Thank God now I’m over here in the True Church of God In Christ. This has given me a mind to live right. We have some preachers coming behind Bishop Lucas preaching the same thing and we thank God knowing you got to live right. You can’t live right until you know how and I learned how to live right. Bishop W.F. Lucas stood tall in the word of God.  He didn’t turn right or left.  He kept a straight course in the word of God.  People you got to know what the word says in order to live right.  You can’t know what the word says unless you listen to the preacher.  The Bible says you can’t hear without and preacher and the preacher can’t preach except he be sent.  We thank God for having a God-sent man to preach the word of God to us.I thank God for blessing me with ten wonderful children; six girls and four boys. People I tell you now that there is nothing else.  There is nothing else than what the True Church of God is preaching. I’m not saying this is the only church, but they got to be preaching the gospel just like the True Church of God In Christ. The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.  The truth has made me FREE today and I thank God for it.   This is my testimony:  I love the Lord and I won’t take it back.  He’s been so good to me.

 

 Elder Isiah Boyd, Sr. 
Deliverance Temple

 

 

 

I thank the Lord for the truth and how God has blessed me to come into the knowledge of the truth.  I thank him for bringing me out of a world of sin. I believe that God is going to keep us, bless us, and watch over us.  I pray always this great movement, The True Church Of God In Christ, Inc. continues to bless souls to be saved.  He  helped me to walk up in a Holy and upright manner so that the world would recognize that we have the truth.  This gospel has helped me to love my one wife and one set of children; To keep myself unspotted from the world; And has taught me that he that committed sin is of the devil.  Therefore, I must continue to watch and pray that no temptation may overtake me.  I believe that God is willing and able to keep me from all sin.  I encourage the saints to trust, obey, and believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be ready upon his second coming.

 

Elder Dennis Jeffries
Pastor of St. James

 

 

 

 

 

I was taught the word of God by Bishop W. F. Lucas as a child. As Apostle Paul expressed concerning Timothy, that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.  I knew the things that I should and should not do, but I was contrary. I was headed to the lake of fire. I had heard in the scriptures that heaven and earth would pass away with a great noise. When a great storm would hit, I would pull the covers over my head and ask the Lord to allow me to make it to Sunday and I would repent. When Sunday would come the weather was nice and I forgot about my promise to the Lord. I didn’t turn to the Lord right away, but the word did not go out void. The seed of the word had been planted in my heart.  I came to the Lord at the young age of 14.  The night before I did, I was joking and telling lies with my cousin. One of the last things I said that night was, I told a lot of lies tonight , but tomorrow I’ll be at the altar. I didn’t know I was telling the truth. The next day was Sunday. As I sat in the pews, it seemed as though the spirit of the Lord was in the service and I was convicted in my heart even before the Bishop stood up to preach. I began to tell myself, "You know better and now it’s time to live for the Lord."  The invitation to come to the Lord was made by Bishop W. F. Lucas. At that point, the devil began to tell me, you haven’t had your fun with women, clubbed or partied yet. If you come to the Lord now you’ll miss out on the fun. I thank God I didn’t listen to that deceiver.  I stepped out from the pews and repented of my sins or wrong doing and was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of my sins. I thank God today for the Holy Ghost.

 

Elder Vista Jeffries
Pastor of Chattanooga True Church

 

 

 

I thank the Lord for the late Bishop W. F. Lucas. He was my uncle. My family called him “Uncle Fred”. I also thank the Lord for the life he lived and the gospel he preached. Bishop Lucas often quoted one main scripture that I love- St. John 7:38, “He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  Before I came to the Lord, I talked to Bishop Lucas about getting married to a young lady.  I told him that she had been married before and that her husband was still living.  He told me that he would not do that if it were him. He said, “You don’t know what the Lord may have you to do.”

 

Down through the years, I observed his life.  I started attending bible classes on Monday night and the word pricked me to my heart.  I repented and was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  Later the Lord blessed me to meet a sister in the church.  Today, I have my own wife, Sister Marie Lucas, whom I love.  On March 31, 2008, we celebrated twenty-nine years of marriage.  We have five wonderful children. 

 I still believe on the Lord as the scripture says. God brought me out victoriously.

 

Elder Jerry Lucas
Lucas Temple

 

 

 

 

When I first came to The True Church of God in Christ I was not looking for a church because I was not a church going person. I was just following my wife to church. However, when I got there I heard a man that had a powerful voice but I could hardly understand what he was saying. As I listened harder it seemed as if he were talking  directly to me. He was talking about the kind of ugly life I was living. Now I know that he was preaching the word of God. I had many sins in my life that I had to overcome. At the time, I did not like what Bishop Lucas was saying, but I always knew that I needed it. I would go hear him from time to time. Every time I went the words that he spoke kept hitting my heart. Finally, I got tired of taking whippings from God and I was already tired of my sad life. I wanted some joy and peace of mind. I joined the church and started praying a lot and fighting hard to save my soul. God took the taste for alcohol away from me. I figured since he could do that, he could help me with other problems and he certainly did.  Now I am faithful. I don't blow my money in the streets; I know how to treat my wife; I don’t lie; I have stopped all of my bad habits. My wife and I have been together for about 29 years. We were not in the lord during all of them, but now we are and I can say that these are the best years of my life. I love God, his word, and people. I can truly say that I love myself now. I am striving to save myself from this untoward generation.

 Elder Willie Mann
Assistant Pastor of  Deliverance Temple

 

 

 

I am Elder Robinson thanking God for being so good to us.  Down through the years God has been good to us.  One day he took us out of darkness into this marvelous light. I say to everybody ‘living right in a sanctified life can’t be beat.’ God will honor nothing else but that.  We stand with the true doctrine that says One Lord One Faith and One Baptism.  It’s one God and the Father of all.  Everybody got to come to the table now and eat every word of God.  After hearing the word of God, do what the word says.  I thank God for it.  Over fifty odd years ago my Bishop told me ‘Robinson, you can be somebody, but what your trouble is you got those boys hanging on with you and you got to cut loose every one of them.’  I cut loose those fellas over fifty years ago.  You know God has blessed me and he’s still blessing me.  In a few days I will be 80 years old.  In sickness, trials and tribulations God is a precious God.  I’ll tell anybody, take time out, sit down and examine yourself to see if you are in the word or not.  If you’re not in the word, don’t complain about it just come and hear someone preach the word of God and get in the word and stay there.  I tell everybody don’t go to no church where there are no benefits.  What do I mean about benefits?  Hearing God’s word there.  God has something for everyone.  You can live Holy in this life.  I say to the young folks especially, you don’t have to be no bootlegger for nobody. Get in the church, get some word of God in you and get some life in you, then you wouldn’t want any beer, wine and all that kind of junk. I am going to stand firm in the word of God.

 

Elder Emmitt Robinson, Sr.
Lucas Temple

 

 

 

"God bless you!" Giving honor unto our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I like to always give honor to him because he is the savior of our household. I'd like to also give honor to our late bishop, Bishop Lawson for his services and for traveling the dangerous highways for many months and years. Also to Mother Lawson, Elder Jones and Sister B. Jones, Minister Jones and Sister N. Jones, Deacon Jones, Mother Arlene, and the whole augusta congregation. They have really looked after us and helped take care of us down through the years. Even through the hard times.

I thank God for choosing me to be a true preacher for him. I thank God for choosing me to be a leader, and a pastor, and for all the gifts that he has given me. Its a beautiful thing to let God choose you, than you choose yourself. Its always best to let God work things out for you than you work them out yourself no matter what the situation maybe, if you let God handle it, you will always come out ahead. I want to thank our present bishop, Bishop Jeffries and his wife. I pray that God continues to bless them. God bless all the pastors, elders, ministers, deacons, brothers and their wives.

Especially Deacon and Sister Stafford because they do so much to go out of their way for us here in North Carolina. I thank God for their support and for them being here with us as often as they are. They live 3 hours away from the church and I try to tell Deacon Stafford that he doesn't have to come every Sunday with his family, but its a blessing. I know that it is very expensive and he travels as often as he can. If Deacon Stafford not here worshiping, he is worshiping in Georgia with his family. I know that God knows his heart and a man that don't take care of his own house is worse than and infidel. I really want him to understand that I mean that he doesn't have to come every sunday. I have told him that he doesn't have to travel like that because, we are all one big family and if we don't look after each other, than who will.

I thank God for the support of my church family here in NC. It's a blessing to have their support. Last but nowhere near least, I thank God for my wife for being right here by my side and much much love to her. May God continue to bless the True Church of God in Christ as a whole. Thank you.

 

Elder John J. Drakeford
Pastor of Spirit of Truth, NC

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Our Deceased Preachers

Elder Dratin Castlin

Elder Henry Henderson

Elder Joseph Zed Lucas

Elder Charlie Shaw

Elder Clinton Smith

Elder Harrell Taylor

Elder Nathaniel Turner