Congregants at House of Deliverance Church celebrated the church’s 56th anniversary in a special way. Last week, the church hosted a series of evening services over a four-day period followed by a symbolic dedication and mortgage burning service on December 8.
The church, located at 9355 St. Charles Rock Rd. near Woodson Road, was purchased in early January of this year. Yet Bishop Jesse Battle Jr., senior pastor at House of Deliverance, said the “official” dedication service was postponed to coincide with the church’s anniversary.
Bishop Battle estimates that a total of 1,500 people attended the services.
House of Deliverance worshipped with guest pastors Bishops James Johnson of Bethesda Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith, Larry Jones of Greater Grace Church, Alphonso Scott of Lively Stone Church and Cornelius Showell of International Bible Way Church. They each presided over a service at House of Deliverance and were joined by members of their own church.
Bishop Battle, who personally celebrated 49 years at the pulpit, preached the dedication service.
Regina Swink, chairman of the finance committee at House of Deliverance, described the services as an opportunity for “thanksgiving.”
Swink said church members were grateful to have secured a “well-equipped” place of worship under the leadership and “vision” of their senior and elder pastor Eric Battle.
It was time, Elder Eric Battle said, to reflect upon the church’s history. The chapel at the new location blends both old and new because it’s dedicated to the memory of the church’s founding pastor, the late Bishop Jesse Battle Sr. According to Elder Battle, it’s still a work in progress and will contain many of the late Bishop’s personal artifacts, like his preaching robes.
Bishop Battle said the church needed some major work, which is probably why it sat on the market for so long. “We did about $700,000 worth of renovations, which a smaller or more financially strapped congregation could not have done,” he said.
For many years, the late Bishop Battle had plans to build a school on the church grounds, but obstacles impeded his progress, according to his son. Bishop Battle kept his father’s dream alive in his continuous search for an “ideal” location that had a smaller sanctuary but larger educational facility than the previous location on Natural Bridge.
It will be a “slow process,” Bishop Battle said, to get the school up and running by next September. He has begun the process of partnering with educational officials to develop the curriculum. He said recruitment for the school will initially focus on children within the congregation.
There wasn’t an actual “mortgage burning” because the property was paid for in cash. The funds were acquired from the sale of its previous location at 9350 Natural Bridge Rd. to Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church last December. However, a document was burned to symbolically “solidify the fact that God has really done this thing for us,” Swink said.
Because the church isn’t bound to a mortgage, Swink said, it will free up money that can be used for outreach purposes.
At the end of last year, for example, church members received a check through a so-called “in-house stimulus program.” The check amounts ranged from $200 to 4,000 dollars and were disbursed from funds that were not needed to satisfy the church’s budget. Bishop Battles plans to continue the program again this year.
“We are a regular black church, which means among our membership are people who are not doing as well,” Bishop Battle said. “We have always helped with the economic struggles of our membership.”
Visitors are welcome at House of Deliverance at 9355 St. Charles Rock Rd. For more information, call 314-942-1515.
