City of Praise Church Ministries
Saving Families One Soul at a Time
... so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5
The Fellowship of the Believers They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
Table of Contents Message from The Pastor and First Lady .................... 4 The City of Praise Story ................................................. 5 What We Believe .......................................................... 7 Ministries and Resources .............................................. 8 Contact ......................................................................... 9 Notes ............................................................................ 10
Dear Friends, We are blessed and honored that you have chosen to share your time with us in fellowship, worship and praise of the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ. The City of Praise Church has a rich history that is rooted in sharing the Gospel of Christ. Every single thing that we do from our liturgical dance ministry to the public preaching of The Word is laser focused on winning souls for Christ. For over 45 years, we have been saving families for Christ one soul at a time. We hope that you will take a few minutes to read The City of Praise Story and to learn more about what we believe. If you do not have a church home in the Washington, D.C. metro area, we hope that you will consider worshiping with the City of Praise Family. May the Lord Our God Bless and Keep You, Pastor Joel and 1st Lady Ylawnda
The City of Praise Church Ministries Story Well, since we must pick a place to begin, why not July of 1963. Having been in the Evangelistic Ministry of the Gospel of God for almost one year, the late Reverend James R. Peebles, Sr. organized The Peebles Gospel Chorus under the musical direction of his wife, Betty. Reverend Peebles and the chorus traveled near and far spreading the gospel and winning souls to Christ. November 1964 had still another calling for the Peebles, the organization of a small Baptist Mission founded in the basement of the Odd Fellows Hall in Washington, D. C. The Reverend James R. Peebles, Sr., his wife, Betty, their sons, James and Johnny, Aunt Lucy Lane, and Deacon Anne F. Wesley met together in that Odd Fellows Hall and initiated the mission. The mission later became part of the Rehoboth Baptist Church under the direction its Pastor, the late Apostle A. H. S. Johnson, and was later recognized as the Jericho Baptist Church, Inc. In 1967, seeing and recognizing the need for a permanent place of worship, the Lord enabled Pastor James Peebles to secure a loan of $7,500 from his job’s credit union to purchase land on Douglas Street for the erection of a small edifice for worship. In 1968, God enabled Betty Peebles to place $2,000 with a builder, Mr. Sarbacher, to begin the first building. In March 1969, the building was finished, and we moved in with a $31,000 mortgage. Pastor Peebles drew all of his people close and began planning programs to meet the financial obligations. However, as a good shepherd, he always reminded us of our spiritual duties; thus, many prayer weeks and
home-to-home prayer meetings began in addition to our regular services. Thanks be to God, January 1973 marked our first mortgage burning. Glory to God, the little church became overcrowded. As we stood around the walls, in the little kitchen and even around the outside door, we began planning another building. In 1973, God gave us a miracle. Mr. Hardisty, the owner of the adjacent lot to our property, gave this property to the Jericho Baptist Church without cost. In 1977, we built and moved into our 800-seat auditorium with a mortgage of $1.3 million. We remained in that building until the mortgage was paid in full. In 1978, the Lord took Jericho to another dimension. In September 1978, we launched our new Jericho Christian Center/College, beginning the first three-hour semester. The college has grown to great heights, graduating over 7,000 students. Thanks be to God, many counseling and help services have come into being under the sponsorship of the Jericho Baptist Church. The People of the Word Ministry (POW) and the Upper Room Ministry minister the Word of God and helping people with personal and physical needs. We branched out into such services as: An Upper Room opened for prayer, counseling and holy communion daily; a convalescent home ministry; a ministry for the incarcerated; a new-members prayer partners ministry; a radio follow-up ministry; an in-hospital “cheer-up” ministry; a boys and girls home ministry; a bookroom ministry; a printing ministry; a tape ministry; a video-tape ministry; a TV Production ministry, an intercessory prayer ministry; a youth ministry; Taking Washington for Jesus; Hearing Hands; a Hispanic ministry; a singles ministry; and a SWATT (Spiritual Warfare Attack Teen Team). We’ve added ministry of Praise Dancers, and our Choir ministry has over 300 members.
In 1979, Pastor Jamie was ordained as Assistant Pastor of Jericho Baptist Church. This was the same year that the church purchased the Yellow House across the street and the adjacent lot that we used for parking. 1984, after many years of dedicated service to God in the offices of teacher, administrator, and helpmate to her husband, Betty P. Peebles was ordained Pastor and served as Co-Pastor of the Jericho Baptist Church with her husband until he was elevated to Bishop. In 1987, we began construction of our third edifice. At its completion, this sanctuary seated 2,000, there were 17 classrooms, a multi-purpose room, a professional kitchen and various offices and meetings rooms. God blessed us with a high-tech computerized presentation system, manned by the members of our Screen Presentation Ministry. With the aid of this presentation technology, those who attended Jericho services on Douglas Street could not only hear but see the Word as well. We thank God for the mortgage pay-off of the third edifice. The terms of the $4.5 million loan secured for that project was twenty-five years, payable on/ before the year 2014. HOWEVER, God enabled his good stewards at Jericho Baptist Church to pay off that loan in three years; thus saving more than $3.5 million in interest. What a mighty God we serve. Touched by the words of Acts 17:ll, “The Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.� God took us to another dimension while we were still on Douglas Street, when He instructed the pastors to give the Word in written form to those who attended the services so that they might study and confirm the Word that had come forth.
On Saturday, September 16, 1989, our Pastor, the late Reverend James R. Peebles, Sr., was elevated to Bishop of the Jericho Ministries. There were many renowned Apostles, Bishops, Pastors, Elders, Reverends, Ministers, Deacons and State and local officials in attendance, with Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Nigeria serving as God’s Messenger during the consecration day service. What a blessing!!!!
Ministries and Resources Men & Women Exhorting One Another: Meets every first Saturday of the month at 10:00 a.m. This is a powerful morning of praise, worship and teaching. Men’s Ministry: “J.A.M.I.E.” - Meets every first Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the college. Men of Valor Youth Group – Meets every 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Mondays. Ntegrity Cell Group – Meets Monday through Saturday weekly. Sunday Worship: Each Sunday, Pastor’s 10 a.m. messages, can be found on http://cityofpraisechurch.com -The Double Portion -Healing -What To Do When It Seems Like Salvation Doesn’t Work? -Is it Possible to Lose Your Salvation -Head Faith vs. Heart Faith -Nine Basic Things On Which God Will Judge the Believer -Back To Basic
Contact Information Website: CityofPraiseChurch.org Email: CityofPraiseChurch@gmail.com Phone: (301) 333-0500 Address: 8501 Jericho City & Bishop Peebles Dr. Landover, MD 20785 Social Media Tools: Receive updates and daily messages from Pastor Joel and First Lady Ylawnda by dialing 72727 and texting PRAISEHIM. Twitter - @Cityofpraisemd
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Sermon Notes
Sermon Notes