CHURCH HISTORY
The City on a Hill Church (COAH) rose from humble beginnings. As with many churches that were established in the mid 1950s, upon its inception, the services were held in the front of a store. From that storefront, the members moved into a building on the corner of North Jefferson and Abingdon. In 1964, the members erected the structure which stands this day at 3624 Malone.
Originally named the South Side Church of Christ, for the building's location on the south end of Peoria, it was the shared desire by a group of almost two hundred people to come together in one place and on one accord to worship and serve God. The change in its name to City on a Hill, in 2005, was birthed out of a change in the nature of the congregation's spiritual focus. This name not only describes the building's position at the top of the Malone Street hill, but it also depicts the church's character. We are a company of believers who are striving to let God's light shine in us, through us and out into the city of Peoria.
THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY At its inception, the COAH's activities were guided by the following statement: "Speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent." Thus, its energy was spent ensuring the doctrine that was preached from the pulpit was in keeping with a literal interpretation of scripture. This intense focus on doctrinal matters caused our outreach ministry to be limited and inconsistent. As our purpose became more concentrated on meeting the needs of our church family, as well as the community, so also did our driving force. In 2003, a five-fold ministry became the vehicle that drives us. Since then, our efforts have been motivated by the desire to R.E.A.C.H.; that is to:
- Rescue the perishing (spiritually lost) through evangelism
- Equip members to grow and serve through holistic education
- Accentuate intimacy through our fellowship
- Celebrate the Savior and our salvation through praise and worship; and
Help those in need through benevolence.
Some of the changes and activities that have been in force as a result of incorporating this five-fold ministry are as follows: substantial growth in the area of understanding and practicing our responsibility to witness; more in-depth study of the word of God, altering our stance on many doctrinal positions that once had us bound and very limited and deepening our intimacy with the God we serve; building real, godly relationships among the members that foster greater productivity; a mind blowing, 3rd realm praise & worship experience; and a structured way of assessing and supplying the needs of members in our church and community.
PASTORAL HISTORY Since the erection of the building that serves as our house of worship, nine men have led the flock. The first seven men, listed in order of the time they served, are: Arlis Campbell, Don Flanagan, James Lowery, Ken Dinkins, Ted Clark, Gary Summers, and George Browning. These men operated mainly as teachers, working to help the members grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The eighth man, Jerald Quarles, is notable for his work as an anointed evangelist. He worked to gather in the unsaved from the community. Furthermore, he was the first black man to lead the congregation and consequently during his tenure the makeup of our congregation shifted from being multi-racial to predominately black.
William D. Preston, I, the man who presently leads the flock, was sent by God in 2002 to function in a multi-operational role. Not only has he been gifted with the ability to prophesy, evangelize and teach, he is an anointed pastor. He feeds, guides and provides tender care and vigilant superintendence to the members. Under his leadership, COAH adopted the five-fold ministry, and has trained and developed a pastoral staff, deacons, ministry leaders and ministry workers that has given rise to the significant spiritual, educational, financial, social, and numeric growth of the congregation.
LOOKING TO OUR FUTURE In contrast with the growth exhibited by the members, the building has remained stunted. Aside from some internal renovations and the expected repairs that come with a building that has weathered over forty years of use, it virtually remains unchanged from the structure that was built back in 1964. In order to accommodate our growing needs, in 2006, we embarked on a new building project. That was also the year that we received our license to open up a school. The lighthouse Academy will be housed in the new building. TO BE CONTINUED. . .
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