The Journey

I received my call into the ministry at the tender age of 8 years old. I devoted and dedicated all of my youth to the Lord. There was a time in my life where I knew I wanted to become a Pastor but what I did not know was it happening so soon. Before I turned 30 years old God was ready for me to take the mantle. I was prepared to preach the Gospel, but I now had to be prepared to lead the sheep. It hasn’t always been easy however God has been faithful this entire journey.

Being favored of the Lord I was blessed to travel and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the United States. However, in 2019 my aunt received a devastating call that she was diagnosed with cancer, and it aggressively attacked her body and as a result she went home to be with the Lord. It was at the demise of my aunt the late Apostle Shawna Branch I was called into a meeting with five members and there was a vote held; three voted yes and two voted no. It was after this meeting I met with my pastor and then later called the five individuals to my home church for a meeting with my pastor for him to hear their request of me to serve them. After the meeting and a time of prayer I agreed to take the ministry and within three months the church membership went from five members to sixty members. Numerous souls have been saved and baptized in our ministry.

Within this journey of four years numerous families have been impacted by the ministry and lives transformed. Many sons and daughters have been raised in the ministry under the New Birth Church of Baltimore. However, as I mentioned before Pastoring is no easy job that one can just breeze through. It takes a lot of Praying, dedication, motivation, and perseverance to push through. Not just good days but especially when those days come when you are feeling like you are doing it all by yourself. As I started this journey the building of the church was a task, but I believe God sent his people right into New Birth to get what they needed. We went from 5 to 60 in a matter of a few months.

God is faithful to His words and those who diligently serve Him. Many nights I stayed at the church just being thankful and grateful for being allowed to serve at a higher calling as a Pastor. Much different from being a traveling evangelist, I was responsible for souls. Not an easy task I must say. I had to fast and pray to make sure I was hearing from God to lead the people down the right path, taking my assignment as serious as possible. Things were looking good at the New Birth Church; I couldn’t have been happier. Leaders were in place, the church was at its peak, we were well on our way to serving the needs of the people-uniting people in holy matrimony, outreach in the community with prayer, baptism of many souls. Building the church ministry is one of the best highlights of being a Pastor, letting the community know this is a safe place to serve the Lord. One of my greatest joys is seeing my peers coming to Christ and walking away from the streets and turning their hearts towards the Lord. Also showing people the altar is still Holy and you can cast your worries, fear, and all to the Lord. Being a Pastor doesn’t mean everything is going to go well all the time. I consider myself a holiness preacher and I’m passionate about helping people embrace the true essence of being a believer.

I’ve learned this on my journey that the enemy is always on his job to get you off track and cause you not to be faithful to the Lord. Pastoring also comes with many challenges and some traumatic experiences. Within my first year of pastoring tragedy struck my family pretty hard. While preaching one Sunday I received a note handed to me in the pulpit saying a call had come saying my little cousin had been murdered in the streets of Baltimore. All while grieving the death of my cousin, the day after I buried him, I received a call

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Continued from page 9 that my nine-year-old niece had committed suicide. Now I’m thinking to myself, how can I move forward with a double hit like this. Let alone I was building a ministry in the peak of the pandemic while churches were closing, but God had given us a mandate to build. I didn’t know how I was going to continue preaching after this horrific experience. Honestly, I wasn’t ready to take this on. I struggled with not just being my niece’s uncle but also her pastor. I wrestled with how do I be there for my family as both. The loss of my niece was a major hit for me, she was always with me in the house of the Lord. She loved Jesus and showed it in her praise.

Many things have happened since then as I’m approaching my 4th year of Pastoring. As I’m enjoying this milestone in my life as I previously stated pastoring during the pandemic was not an easy thing. The truth is while others were closing God’s doors on their churches, I decided to keep my doors open. For some I was taking a big risk, however I just knew God did not want me to shut them on His people who desperately desired to come lay at the altar before him. We survived the worst season of our lives. While enduring the pandemic, God Blessed me with a beautiful, anointed woman of God whom I married during the pandemic. She’s truly an amazing gift and jewel to the body of Christ and mostly in my life. As this exciting moment in my life was taking place, I was hit with another severe storm, this time around it was something I almost slipped into a depressed state while going through.

I couldn’t have ever imagined I would lose my best friend- my father who watched me, molded me, and raised me to be the man I am today. Three days into my honeymoon my dad took ill, and we rushed back home. This was when I really needed God the most. I had questions and couldn’t seem to find any answers. What was I going to do now?

My Father sadly transitioned on March 28, 2021, and this was the time I was ready to walk away from ministry. Saying to myself

I’ve laid hands on many people and saw what the Lord did with His saving power. I then questioned God and asked why couldn’t you save my father? My spirit was broken. I couldn’t minister to the people when I was broken on the inside. I took some time away from the pulpit to grieve and breathe.

Even in this God is an awesome God. He never gave up on me even when I wanted to throw in the towel and walk away from Pastoring. God has chosen me for such a time as this, through the good and bad I will serve him. Tough times don’t last always. I’m praying and pushing through my hardest days all while serving. I have endured the challenges of being faithful and committed to people who aren’t into your vision. I’ve seen them celebrate me openly but try to kill and assassinate my character privately. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my short journey so far is you have no friends in your church, you are the leader not their buddy, and be slow to appoint because some are only connected for what they can take from you. I admitted to my congregation on a local Bible study teaching that one of my biggest mistakes in my pastoral journey was elevating people who simply wasn’t ready. I encourage every pastor don’t allow people to push you out of the will of God!

God through prayer in January of 2023 instructed me to reorganize and establish a ministry with the intent to win more souls to Christ. He instructed me to birth the Temple Of Praise Church Of Baltimore, Inc. and the Chosen Generation Worship Center of East Baltimore. The storm removed what needed to be discarded and replaced the old with the new. In March 2023 God blessed me and my wife with a beautiful daughter Aria Marie. I’m blessed to have an amazing, brilliant son Jadon Anthony and a gifted loving wife Tamara Joy. Hear me I can never give up on what God wants me to do in this earth. There is more work to be done, more souls to save and my answer will always be Yes to His will. I close saying this, never allow your storm to navigate you, however you have the power from God to navigate the storm!