Mt. Moriah Holiness Church, Kingstree, S.C. 

 

 Mt. Moriah's Story to Tell

 In the year of 1949,the Lord moved upon the hearts of Taft and Elouise Cunningham to begin prayer services in their home for the purposes of winning souls to Christ. This venture received a positive response from the community and many families joined the effort. It was agreed upon that services would rotate from house to house for convenience, but this soon ceased and the services settled at the Cunningham’ residence. Many souls sought the Lord and some received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost.

In the process of time, the local church where Taft and Elouise Cunningham held membership was lost to the Pentecostal Apostolic Faith churches’ organization where the W.B. Buddin was the Pastor and Bishop. This meant considerable travel and expense for them to maintain this fellowship. But, by the grace of God all was not lost, because of the determination of Taft & Elouise Cunningham, a new local church was being born. The new converts were dedicated to this ministry and began to support it with their finance. At this point, it was evident that a Pastor was needed to shepherd these new converts. Consequently, through prayer and in consultation with their Bishop it was decided that Elder Jesse Wilson of Florence, S.C. would be asked to be their pastor and he accepted.

As they continued on in the faith, it became necessary for them to establish a public place of worship. The Lord blessed them with the current lot of land in the year of 1951. IN 1952 ,the first Church building was erected through the hard work of Pastor Wilson and (Deacon) Taft Cunningham in time enough for them to host their first “Union” fellowship services. So the Church was built, because the people had a mind to work, Halleluiah!

The people was excited about their salvation and about their accomplishments. The word spread quickly throughout the area about what the Lord had done. Many came, some seriously seeking salvation and others were spectators. Nevertheless, the work continued to grow under the leadership of Elder J. Wilson until his untimely death in 1962.

The group grieved their lost, but forged ahead. The Lord provided another Leader, a great woman of God, named Mother Gatewood of Florence, S.C. Her ministry was dynamic and full of encouragement. After two years nevertheless, she could no longer handle the responsibility and she resigned. Deacon Taft Cunningham who was a faithful servant and minister of the Lord was promoted to Pastor by Bishop W.B. Buddin. Under his leadership the Church was enlarged and they upgraded the exterior of the Church with stones. On February 17, 1973, Elder Taft Cunningham went home to be with the Lord. Here again the members suffered lost, but God had another great woman ready to carry on the work, namely, Mother Elouise Cunningham.

Bishop Buddin installed her as Pastor within a few months. Under her leadership the work of Church continued to thrive. The Church was renovated inside and outside was enhanced with brick. As a humble woman of God, she asked Elder Joseph Brown to assist her in ministry. nevertheless, due to the need for him to Pastor another one of our churches within the organization, he was released of that responsibility very shortly after that request.

In the meantime , Bro. J. A. Woods was lead by God to return to South Carolina from Philadelphia, PA and he responded. He took his family and came to South Carolina without a job prospect in obedience to the call of God. Nevertheless, God provided for him as he was being developed for the ministry of God. In the process of time, the Lord raised up Elder Joseph A. Woods to be the Assistant Pastor of the Church and this proved to be a great help to Pastor Cunningham Jenkins. However, after she became ill and was unable to Pastor the Church, she named Elder Joseph A. Woods as the next Leader.

He is a young man full of the Holy Ghost, dedicated to the service of preaching, teaching and educating men and women in the word of God. Under his leadership the church is moving forward in the work of the Lord. The membership of the Church is working in unity to fulfill the vision that God has given to the Pastor for this time. The Church has become a part of the P.C.A.F. organization and is a member of the Atlantic States Council. In 2005, Pastor Woods implemented the Evangelical Training Association program through the P.C. A. F organization and (17) have completed the standard course and (2) have completed the advanced course.

The Lord continues to show forth His divine power to effect change in the lives of individuals. Through the collective work efforts of the Church and the outreach ministry, eleven (11) souls have joined this Church’ ministry in 2008. There were a total (6) souls baptized in Jesus name and (3 )have received the gift of Holy Ghost.

Pastor J. A. Woods and the congregation, humbly request your prayers that God will continue to pour out his blessings of increase upon this Church.