About

A Brief History of the Church

“A Church Built Upon a Solid Foundation”

In the spring of 1916 the people of Alton, Illinois had never seen or heard of “holiness” or the Holy Ghost. Mother Matilda Holman Killion , a resident of Alton, Illinois and a member of the 23rd and Delmar Church of God in Christ in St. Louis, MO was inspired to bring the saints of St. Louis to Alton for a meeting. It was a rainy Sunday morning that the meeting took place on the corner of Highland and Gold Street.

The people who attended were so inspired by the “holiness” message that they helped Mother Killion find a place to worship. That place was a large room located in a place where the present church still stands.  Elder J. C. Hollis and his wife Mother L. Hollis along with Mother Elliott, Mother Brown, and Mother Simms all of whom are deceased began a revival under the leadership of Bishop Daniel Bostick. They were later joined by Elder Walter Wright and his wife, Mother Olivia Wright who lived on the other side of town, but were both saved and filled with the Holy Ghost.

The first two saints saved under this revival were Sister Gertrude Miles and Sister Bertha Bass, sister of Mother Killion. Through this great revival the Lord saved and added to this little band and Bishop Bostick appointed Elder Hollis as the first pastor. He moved to Alton trusting and believing he could do the work of God.  The congregants worshipped on the hill for nearly a year facing many trials. Their drinking water was poisoned, but God protected them. They were then forced to move out of that place and with no other building available to hold services, they worshipped on the lawn of Mother Amy Shaffer, a member of the congregation. The porch was used as a pulpit and the lawn as the pews, but the presence of God was with them.

Following their displacement, Eld. Hollis put the saints on a fast and they all stepped out on faith believing God would provide a place to worship. Their resources were very small, but still they trusted in God and took courage from the scripture passage of Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  The year was 1917 and Sister Lottie Derrick found a lot and gave the first $5.00 along with Sister Miles to help build a church.  When Elder Hollis sought a contractor by the name of Mr. Floyd Davis, he again met with resistance because Mr. Davis refused saying he had to go to war.  Elder Hollis again believed by faith and told him that if he would build a church for God’s people, he would not have to go to war.  His wife, Mrs. Davis, believed God and persuaded her husband to build the church. God proved faithful and Mr. Davis did not go to war.

The church continued to progress and in the fall of 1921 two missionaries by the names of Sister Inez Wells and Sister Josie Dibbles came to Alton to begin another great revival.  The presence of God was great and many souls were saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. The number of souls saved was around 75 and included people from all races. The church had one of the largest mixed congregations in the history of Alton. It was at this revival that the next pastor was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, Elder H. H. Webster.  During this time another mission had been started on 17th and Market Street. It was pastored by Bishop William Roberts of Chicago, IL.  Following Eld. Hollis’ departure from the area, Bishop Roberts was led to combine the two churches and  in 1928 he appointed Eld. Webster as the pastor.  Eld. Webster served in that capacity for 61 years. In 1978 the name of the church was changed from Highland Avenue Church of God in Christ to Webster Temple Church of God in Christ through the efforts of the congregation and under the vision of Eld. Levi Frazier and Mother Lillian Brantley. The year the street was renamed was the Golden Anniversary of Eld. Webster’s ministry in the church.

During Pastor Webster’s tenure many souls were saved and many churches in the community were formed from this Mother Church.  In 1989 Bishop Webster transitioned to his heavenly home and his successor was the late Eld. George Lewis, who had been a faithful servant alongside Bishop Webster. Eld. Lewis was appointed the pastor by the late Bishop Lemuel N. Moore.   He was a faithful and loyal member, assistant pastor and pastor. He served the church until the Lord called him home in 2005. He had served faithfully for fifteen years.  After the death of Eld. Lewis, Eld. Albert J. Watson, Sr. was appointed the pastor and served from 2006 until 2015.   

We are now at the present stage in the history of this church and we have a young and gifted pastor by the name of Eld. Sanchostandish “Sancho” Williams. Eld. Williams was appointed in 2016 by Bishop William Scott. He comes at a time when the heritage is rich and a legacy filled with the fruit of the past leaders. His season is now and the possibility of great accomplishments unlimited. The Lord has blessed him with a great passion and vision for this church. Already he and his lovely wife, Lady Allyssia, have put their hands to work to build the church and its ministries. She is a gifted and anointed psalmist and has used her gifts to enlarge and enhance the voices in the Webster Temple Choir.  Pastor Williams is using not only his spiritual gifts of ministry and music to bless the church, but also uses the gift of labor to beautify the edifice of the church. Church renovations have improved the appearance of the lower level of the sanctuary and the Ethyl Faye Webster Fellowship Hall has been   completely modernized and renamed the EFW Café. The opening of this beautiful Café  took place during the Annual Church History observation in 2018. God is good and greatly to be praised!