WORD OF LIFE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL
Church History
The Church commenced June 21, 2000, with the first meeting held at Sis. Tamar Jones home located at 249 Park Street East Orange, N.J. There Pastor Willie Washington, Jr. shared that God told him to start a church and our scripture reading was Ephesians 5:17 “Wherefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” At this meeting the slate of officers were selected.
Douglas “Doc” Gaffney and Evangelist Mary Hester were named Co Pastors and Tamar Jones as Treasurer. In addition, God gave instruction that 11 people were to help the ministry begin, they were told, and they agreed and began. Bible Studies and Prayer Meeting were held each week on Wednesday night at Mrs. Jones home.
After a short while the church family moved to the corner of N. Day Street and Main Street in Orange on the second floor.
We acquired chairs, curtains, Desks and given file cabinets and other office accessories. Our 1st Sunday service was September 3, 2000. Soon thereafter, on the third Sunday of September, to be precise, there was a fire and the building burned to the ground as Pastor Washington, Tamar Jones, Mary Hester and Joyce Huggins stood on the sidewalk and watch everything go up in smoke.
They stood on the sidewalk and prayed and ask God what next and they remained faithful with open hearts and minds to hear from God. With continued prayer, God opened a door on Thursday week at the Elks Lodge on 475 Main Street in Orange where John Banucci negotiated with his lodge members to make it affordable for the church to have services there in a 16’ x 40’ room on the second floor. John was known for his cowboy hats and boots and very often came into our service with his offering in hand and asks to be anointed and for prayer. At this time God brought forth the 7 Wailing Women Ministry and Healing and Deliverance services in the house where many were saved and healed. God remained present and showed himself mightily.
Many visitors travelled far and near to be blessed and there was and great increase in membership. At this stage a choir was developed, and God named them the Voices of Heaven. The original members were Monique Washington, Shaquira Huggins, Vanessa Bell, Annie Gaffney, and Cynthia Huggins with pianist Mark Brown. It wasn’t long before the church outgrew the room upstairs at the Elks Lodge and subsequently moved downstairs to the Banquet Hall which was a larger space. There service was held until the winter of 2003. Many people from the congregant began to make vows for the purchase of a building with one of the major contributors being Charles Perkins, Sr.
The church successfully moved into a building on 170 Central Avenue in Orange and there God showed up in more ways than one. There we held two Prayer conferences where Carol Jones from World Changers Church came and blessed us with her ministry gifts. Later the church received KC Yarbrough of Florida and his wife with the anointing of God will make you fat and there were Word Explosions Conferences.
The choir increase around 18 members and the musicians where Benny Moore, Carlos, Emanuel, and white guy on Saxophone by the name of Charlie. We started our PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens) services on Thursday nights and Saturday Morning Dew Prayer lead by Elder Louise Young. The whole congregation stood behind the Pastor to get the zoning board to rezone 170 Central Avenue Orange so that we could make our purchase.
This was unfortunately held up for years and in God’s wisdom the church left and went to the YWCA in winter of 2005 where we held a citywide Health Fair and the largest Children’s Festival in Orange and stayed there until 2011. The church continued to grow and welcomed a multicultural membership which God ordained from the beginning. Many Hispanic, Caucasian and those of African descent filled the temple. Pastor Washington received Sonship at World Changers Church under Pastor Creflo Dollar. Pastor was later invited with great honor to the podium to present the offering at a Minister’s Conference of 2010 in College Park, Georgia. The Congregation boasted and was very proud of their man of God. It was a privilege to watch the video and see how the Holy Spirit led.
With the YWCA needing repairs in the gymnasium the church then moved back to the Elks Banquets Hall and began to tarry for a change. In July of 2014 God sent change and we are now located at 510 Linden Place sharing space with the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church of Orange. A Change is Coming God has rewritten the vision and it is plain we are an international church of Love and that we will operate in Healing and Deliverance and there is a Great Harvest yet to come.
Being led by the spirit, on the third Sunday-October 20, 2019, Pastor Washington anointed those ordained clergy of the fellowship and charged them all with Pastoral duties of the ministry as follows.
Rev. Willie Washington, Jr. – Senior Pastor
Rev. Harriet A. Session – Executive Pastor
Rev. Martha J. Huggins – Outreach Pastor
Rev. Lori Williams – Youth Pastor
Rev. Douglas Evans – Men’s Ministry Pastor
Min. Tywanna V. Lewis – Community Affairs Liaison
In closing Word of Life Christian Fellowship International is a non-denominational church with great emphasis on solid biblical teaching and practical everyday application. Our purpose is to help men, women and children come to Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose and Make a Difference.
