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Beverly Webster

Professor Gaines

ENG 101-109

18 April 2016

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                                                           Greater Mt. Zion a Place That Matters

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Oh, little town of Bethlehem, on the left side of the road, on the Eastern Shore in Maryland, there stands a red brick church. This church is named Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church. Just as Jesus Christ signified Holiness and was born in a town called Bethlehem, so is this church. This church has been a part of this small community since 1948. It is one of the three churches in this town.  Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness church has served as a place to worship and to learn the word of God and what it means to be holy and live holy by the Apostolic standards. Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church is truly an example of the apostolic religion in traditions and beliefs even with the Pentecostal name in the church title.

Physical Description

Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church is located at 5199 Bethlehem Rd., Bethlehem, Maryland.  The church is a one-story red brick building with a cross gabled roof.  The exterior front of the building has a ramp that was built for the handicapped and two steps on the other side.  A gravel parking lot and a few boxwood baby gem bushes that are neatly trimmed and a few trees that are around the side surround the church building. In the back is a small grave yard that the deceased family members of Elder Holland and Bishop Friend are buried.  Toward the top of the building there is a stained glass octagon shaped window.  The corner of the building shows the date of construction and the church name engraved on the cornerstone. The building has two front wood frame with glass doors, and two lamp lights attached on the wall next to the doors.  On the side of the building there are three plain windows on each side.  Towards the back of the building there are two more sets of steps with single door entrances, one on the side and one facing the road.

Upon entering the old sanctuary, through the front doors is the foyer.  Then you enter the dining hall this part used to be the old sanctuary.  The sanctuary used to have long wooden and padded pews. The pews were removed and replaced with long tables and chairs.  There are ceiling fans and portable air conditioners in the windows to keep it cool in the summer. The walls are white with touches of blue.  There are no pictures in there or in the sanctuary which is a tradition for the apostolic religion.  Towards the back on the left side is where the old baptism pool was.  It has now been drained and covered over.  The back of the dining hall is the kitchen where food is prepared with a stove and refrigerator.  The building is attached to the new part that consists of a breezeway that has the church offices, bathrooms and the baptism pool room.  The breezeway has a foyer where it has a bulletin board and a bust of Bishop Friend honoring him for fifty years of service to the church. This building connects to the newer constructed sanctuary, that has seating for 300 to 400 people.

History

Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church was founded by Elder Ernest Holland, a native of Bethlehem in 1948.  The building used to be an old school house that Elder Holland purchased and renovated into the church.  Elder Holland at that time received a revelation after attending a church service in New Jersey to build a church in the area to save souls to Christ.  Elder Holland was the one who named the church and thought that Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church would be the perfect name because of the biblical references to Mt. Zion as being a place that God loved (Psalm 87:2-3) (Stamps). The religion or faith came after attending that church service.

 The history of the Pentecostal religion or movement began in 1906 with the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles.  It was led by a black pastor named William J Seymour and played a major role in the development of the Pentecostal movement. This revival became the most significant revival of the century, because it was like the day of Pentecost (Azusa Street Revival - ReligionFacts).

 There are differences in Pentecostal and Apostolic religions now but at that time it was combined, and had no differences.  The differences took place in 1913 when the Apostolic religion, a branch of the Pentecostal began its movement because of a disagreement over the church doctrine (Markey) (Hunter).

Elder Holland chose to follow the apostolic doctrine, and began to preach in Bethlehem and baptizing people “in Jesus name.”  Elder Holland would go to St. Michaels, Maryland and preach at old outdoor tent revivals and would bring people back to the church to be baptized. This began to draw people in, and they began to drive to Bethlehem to attend services here (Green).

Brother Chester Friend, which is who he was called then, began to preach there after Elder Holland became terminally ill.  He preached faithfully and was elevated to the position of Elder and then to Bishop Friend. When the old church was filled to capacity with about 100 people in 1991, Bishop Friend had a vision to add on to the church. He was the one who designed and built the new portion of the church after being given the vision by God and working with a contractor. The new portion of the church opened its doors in the summer of 1993. He has continued to be the Bishop of Greater Mt. Zion to this day (Green).  He never stopped teaching and preaching the Apostolic Pentecostal doctrine.

Significance

Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church is significant not just because of the age of the building and that it was an old school house, but because it was one of the first and only apostolic faith religions in the town of Bethlehem.  Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church is an Apostolic based religion (Green) .

First, to give a definition of what Holiness is, Holiness is a people that are set apart for God’s service, with total devotion to God.  It is trying to live a sin free life following all of God’s laws starting with, but not ending with, the ten commandments: (Exodus 20: 1-17).

The major differences in the two religions doctrine includes God’s nature.  Pentecostals believe in the Trinity, which is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  Apostolic views it as being God is one in all they believe that it is a manifestation of Jesus (Markey),which is why Greater Mt. Zion is considered a Jesus only church.

Pentecostal Holiness Churches believe in water baptism “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, “that was found in the instructions to the Apostles from Jesus before his resurrection: (Matthew 28:19).  Apostolic Churches as is the practice of Greater Mt. Zion, believe that you must repent or ask God to forgive you of your sins, and be baptized with the immersion in water “in Jesus name” only as referenced in (Acts 2:38, Acts 10:48), and (Acts 19:5) (Markey).  Both churches believe in physical evidence of the Holy Ghost as speaking in unknown tongues or language after tarrying or waiting, and calling on the name of Jesus repeatedly at the altar of the church (Johnson).  They both participate in foot washing at certain times (John 13:4-8).  Both churches take Holy Communion, which is what Jesus did with the disciples at the last supper and it is done on the first Sunday of every month to remember Jesus until he returns (Matthew 26 ;26-28) and (1Corinthians 11:24-27).  They both believe in the gifts of the Spirit, one of the gifts is divine healing: (Mark 16:17-18). The other gifts are mentioned in (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) and verse 28 (Stamps) and they are the spirit of wisdom, word of knowledge., faith, working of miracles, prophecy (a word from God concerning the future), discerning of spirits (being able to distinguish between the spirits of good and evil), gift of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues. (Stamps).  

            Apostolic religion has strict standards when it comes to dress.  The women wear dresses all of the time.  Most women don’t cut their hair (Hunter), and the women wear something on their heads, usually a hat when they are in service.  Women don’t wear any make-up or jewelry with the exception of a wedding band, this is a practice of Greater Mt. Zion.  Most Pentecostals are a bit more liberal when it comes to dress leaving it to the person to decide.

 The Pentecostal and the Apostolic religions both study the Bible, testify or telling of what good things God has done for them and they are passionate about praying. There is also singing and shouting and periods of dancing when the Holy Spirit enters in (Hunter).  This is a part of the service that could happen at any time.  Neither religion follows strictly by the church program, both Pentecostals and the apostolic faith allow for the service to be changed according to the Holy Spirit. This is what makes it a Holiness church and makes it stand out from all other religions.

Pentecostal and the Apostolic churches have grown tremendously over the years making them one of the largest growing denominations in the world.  The churches make up approximately 25 percent of the Christian community.  According to the Pew forum there are 279 million Pentecostal Christians in the world (http://www.pewforum.org/data/). Even some of the non-denomination churches teach, preach and live by the Pentecostal Holiness doctrine.

Conclusion

. Greater Mt. Zion remains true to the foundation of the apostolic faith.  The Non-denominational, Baptist and Methodist churches may be more liberal with how they live and incorporating more of the world and its sinful nature.

            Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church has not changed in its beliefs or standards of living the word of the New Testament in the Bible. When speaking with Elder David Green he emphasized that Elder Holland and Bishop Friend cared more about saving souls to Christ, this was and is their main goal.

Greater Mt. Zion continues to draw people to Christ by welcoming all people when they come through the door. The church also has a youth ministry that is geared toward the children to keep them active in church, that keeps them interested and it makes them feel like they are a part of the church.

 The members testify of the goodness of Jesus outside of the church., serving in the community in missionaries that visit the sick and shut-in. They help those in need with groceries, and they visit new members to make them feel welcome to the church and community. “Praise the Lord,” with a smile is still their standard greeting. This is how they welcomed me to the church twenty-three years ago and I got baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit there.  Although I don’t attend there anymore, when I see someone from this church they still greet me with a smile and a hug. This too is a part of the tradition and religion of the apostolic faith. This church will always remain a place that matters to me for that reason and many more and deserves to be preserved...  

 

 

 

Works Cited

Azusa Street Revival - ReligionFacts. 17 Mar 2015. Web. 27 Apr 2016. <http://www.religionfacts.com/azusa-street-revival>.

Eastons Bible Dictionary. n.d. 20 04 2016.

Green, Elder David. History of Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Holiness Church Beverly Webster. 20 April 2016. Interview.

http://www.pewforum.org/data/. n.d. 21 April 2016.

Hunter, Harold D. "Pentecostal Reflections on Apostolicity." Journal of European Pentecostal Theological Association (2013): 1-13. Web. 05 Apr 2016.

Johnson, Alan. "Apostolic Function and Mission." Journal of Pentecostal Theology (2008): 256-66. Web. 05 Apr 2016.

Markey, Dell. The Difference Between Pentecostal & Apostolic. n.d. Web. 05 April 2016.

Stamps, Donald C., ed. The Full Life Study Bible - King James Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 10 April 2016.

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