Holy Tabernacle Church
of
Deliverance
A little store-front building located in Warwick County, now Newport News, served as the first home of Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance. Since its humble beginnings in 1956, the church membership has grown from five people to a congregation of over six hundred. No one ever imagined that five members, along with the pastor and founder, Elder Samuel Braxton, Sr., would be remembered as original pioneers for the oldest predominantly black Pentecostal church in the Denbigh section of the Newport News, Virginia.
The
perseverance and prayers of the members served as the
foundation for Holy Tabernacle
Church of Deliverance. By 1959, God allowed the
membership to grow out of its original building, the old
Warwick County School for Negro Children,
and became the new home for the church. Occupancy
of this building would not have been possible without
the faith of its owner, the late Mother Beatrice
Combs. She and her family were determined
to keep this site as a home for the church. It was
not until 1990, that the church membership purchased the
land from Mother Combs and her family. Today, the
original structure is adjoined to the present church
edifice and serves as the Beatrice Combs Memorial
Fellowship Hall.
Over the years, the Lord has blessed Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance with several anointed pastors, who all added to the growth of this ministry. Each pastor is remembered for his strength and virtue that makes the history of this church complete. The present pastor, Elder Kermit D. Jones was appointed in 2004 after briefly serving as intern pastor during 2003.
Each pastor truly had a vision to gain souls for the
kingdom of God. With that
goal as a driving force, many souls have been added to
the membership. By 1991, the membership had grown
so much that a new sanctuary was constructed and
dedicated on December 15, 1991.
Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance is a ministry that believes in meeting the needs of the people. In line with the vision of it's former pastor, there was a need to educate children to be scholars and academicians. God moved on the heart of the pastor to open the Holy Tabernacle Church Christian Academy in September 1996. It first only served Pre-school thru Kindergarten students. It is recognized as an institution of learning for grades K-3 through 8.
With helping the community as another major priority, the former pastor founded and organized the Holy Tabernacle Housing and Economic Development Corporation, now under the leadership of President/CEO, Kermit D. Jones. As a separate 501© 3 organization, their main goal is to create housing empowerment and community economic development. A special interest of this corporation is providing homes for the elderly. In that regard, the church was awarded a HUD Section 202 grant in 1999 to construct a 37 unit independent living elderly apartment complex. Other housing development projects are in the planning stages.
In January 2001, Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance and the Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with Youth Services International, Inc. purchased the former Newport News General Hospital, a 90,000 square foot building. This facility would be the home of the Genesis Treatment Center, Hampton Roads Christian Free Clinic, and the Betach Childcare and Learning Facility. Housing units for the elderly would be built on a portion of the excess property.
For a little church with only five members, the growth and development of Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance is a testimony of God’s favor. All the glory and honor belongs to God. There is no doubting that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that one may ask or think. Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance continues to meet people at the point of their need, and God continues to add souls as He sees necessary.
The
official church emblem uses four symbols that have significant meaning
in the Pentecostal Church. They are the Cross, the Fish,
the Dove, and the Flames of Fire. The Cross symbolizes the
suffering and death of our Lord and Savior. The
Fish
symbolizes the witness of the Word and the outreach of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Dove
symbolizes the direction, guidance, comforting, and
working that the Holy Ghost provides in the church and
in our lives. The
Flames of Fire symbolize the power and
anointing of the Holy Ghost in the administration of
spiritual and natural things in the church. The Cross is
in the center of the other emblems. This position shows
that any worship and belief must be "Christ Centered."
The four symbols combined represent the preaching, and
teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
redemptive power of His shed blood; directed by the Holy
Ghost.
Holy Tabernacle remains the church on the hill,
where everybody is somebody, and Jesus Christ is Lord!