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Our church had its
beginning in the living room of our Pastor's home on Saturday, June 2,
1979. At that initial meeting there were nine persons present. Our first
service was held at the Bladensburg Elementary School in Bladensburg,
Maryland. The service was well attended by many friends and
well-wishers, some of whom were fellowshipped into the church following
the service. We worshiped at the school for approximately three months.
While at the school, we were only able to have service for three hours.
The Pastor saw the need to relocate to facilities that would allow the
church to have services other than on Sunday morning.
The Lord led the
Pastor into the Hyattsville area on September 2, 1979, we moved from the
school to 4201 Farragut Street, Hyattsville, Maryland. Our new church
home was the Fellowship Hall of another church, but we were able to have
regular services. Again, the church was filled to capacity with many
members and friends. We worshiped at this location for approximately
four years. During those years, Shiloh continued to grow, but not
without some "growing pains."
It was the desire
and vision of our Pastor that we would be able to have facilities that
could accommodate the church's growing programs. A prophecy was given
during a Sunday Morning Worship Service that every seat would be filled
with saved souls, and not just members. The Lord confirmed His Word in
spite of the devil's hindrances.
In February 1983,
a Building Site Committee was organized to locate another facility for
worship, specifically in the Anacostia section of Southeast Washington,
D.C. Our Church, at 2220 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue was formerly a
video arcade and the owner expressed his desire to see the building to a
church. A period of four months passed and we were not financially able
to purchase the building, however, it was later discovered that the
building was still on the market without a contract on it. The Lord
again answered our prayers and on Sunday, July 3, 1983, we moved to our
third church home.
While at 2220,
the Lord was faithful and many souls were saved, delivered and added to
the Church. The ministries of the church increased during this period
such as Tape Ministry, Evangelistic Teams, Drama, and New Generation for
persons recovering from substance abuse, and an expanded Music Ministry.
These were years of growth and prosperity.
We remained at
this location for eight years. In 1988, the Pastor saw the need to
consider what God was saying concerning this building, because we had
become limited by the need for more space. This was the beginning of a
three-year search for a larger worship facility.
In November 1991,
after a long and frustrating process of looking for a new worship
facility, the Pastor and Dr. Pauline Washington, the church's real
estate agent, were looking at facilities and came to 7905 Cryden Way in
Forestville, Maryland. The Pastor's immediate sense was "This is
Shiloh's new church home." The building has been used as a carpet
warehouse, and the Lord gave the Pastor a vision of how the church was
to be designed.
God has been
faithful over the years. We presently have over 30 active ministries and
new members being added to our ministry weekly. At the present time, we
have outgrown our current location and are in the process of preparing
to build our next worship facility in District Heights, Maryland. Our
new facility will include a 500 seat sanctuary, a fellowship hall, many
classrooms to meet the various needs of our ministry and the community. |
