How it all started...
Berea Temple started in 1937 when a Paul Byerly conducted a prayer meeting in someone's home. The infant church moved shortly into a mission hall and later into a converted school house property of its own.
By 1940 Bro. J.D. Cockman became pastor and it soon became evident that additional space would be needed. Accordingly a large lot was purchased and construction of the new church began. It was dedicated on January 2nd, 1950.
The new building was of brick and stone construction, and measured 112ft by 45ft and had over ten thousand feet of floor space including a basement and balcony. When the building was complete it housed a main auditorium with a large baptistry, choir area, and organ. It sat 650, including the balcony. and had six smaller auditoriums, including one for the C.A.'s (Youth). Additionally, the building also contained a church office, prayer room, nursery, choir room, kitchen, Sunday School office and classrooms.
Attendance at Sunday School and church ran between 250 and 300. Those who visited our church found three outstanding characteristics: (1) It was a youthful church - it had a large number of young people. (2) It was (and still is) a Pentecostal church with less than a dozen people in the entire congregation were without the experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. (3) It was (and still is) a missionary church. The offerings for World missions in 1952 ran three times as large as the previous year and the church had sent several young ministers into the great whitened harvest fields to reap for God.
By 1940 Bro. J.D. Cockman became pastor and it soon became evident that additional space would be needed. Accordingly a large lot was purchased and construction of the new church began. It was dedicated on January 2nd, 1950.
The new building was of brick and stone construction, and measured 112ft by 45ft and had over ten thousand feet of floor space including a basement and balcony. When the building was complete it housed a main auditorium with a large baptistry, choir area, and organ. It sat 650, including the balcony. and had six smaller auditoriums, including one for the C.A.'s (Youth). Additionally, the building also contained a church office, prayer room, nursery, choir room, kitchen, Sunday School office and classrooms.
Attendance at Sunday School and church ran between 250 and 300. Those who visited our church found three outstanding characteristics: (1) It was a youthful church - it had a large number of young people. (2) It was (and still is) a Pentecostal church with less than a dozen people in the entire congregation were without the experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. (3) It was (and still is) a missionary church. The offerings for World missions in 1952 ran three times as large as the previous year and the church had sent several young ministers into the great whitened harvest fields to reap for God.
(excerpts and photograph taken from "The Pentecostal Evangel" No. 2004, October 5, 1952)
Expanding the vision...
By the mid-90's our church was fighting for its life. The congregation had dwindled to about 27 adults and a few children and the building was in disrepair. But Jerry Harris, a nationally appointed home missionary under what was then the Division of Home Missions, wasn't discouraged by the church's condition, because God had given him a vision for the city. In 1996, he left a growing rural church to lead Berea Temple.
Because of the church's financial condition, he had only 22 weeks to turn the situation around. He put a team of workers together and led the congregation into some of the most difficult neighborhoods. They passed out flyers, conducted outreaches, feeding programs, concerts, sidewalk Sunday Schools, basketball tournaments and more.
They also started praying with residents door to door and cleaning up neighborhoods. Immediately lives were changed and the church began to grow.
Through their efforts the church grew to over 200 hundred members and at it's peak in this season surpassed 600 in regular Sunday Worship Attendance! PRAISE THE LORD!
Through Pastor Jerry's efforts, Berea also came alongside other churches as well, helping Haitian and Hispanic congregations.
Because of the church's financial condition, he had only 22 weeks to turn the situation around. He put a team of workers together and led the congregation into some of the most difficult neighborhoods. They passed out flyers, conducted outreaches, feeding programs, concerts, sidewalk Sunday Schools, basketball tournaments and more.
They also started praying with residents door to door and cleaning up neighborhoods. Immediately lives were changed and the church began to grow.
Through their efforts the church grew to over 200 hundred members and at it's peak in this season surpassed 600 in regular Sunday Worship Attendance! PRAISE THE LORD!
Through Pastor Jerry's efforts, Berea also came alongside other churches as well, helping Haitian and Hispanic congregations.
Where we are headed...
Today, Berea Temple Assembly of God has refocused our attention on the international community and updated our name to communicate our passion to see the international community reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Now known as Berea Temple International Church, we are still committed to those same core characteristics found back in 1950 of being a Youthful, Pentecostal and Mission minded church with a focus on reaching the immigrant community of St. Louis.
We are an International Church, loving and sharing Jesus with the global community of the Tower Grove East and the greater St Louis Metro Area, and then expanding our outreach according to the great commission.
We are a family-oriented , where everyone has a chance to find their place in God’s family, an opportunity to serve the Lord and most important of all, a chance to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
We see ourselves as a multicultural church simply because we have people from different countries, tribes and tongue that come together in one accord, lifting the name of Jesus together and bringing glory to the Lamb of God.
We currently have a congregation that is made up of those from Congo, Cameroon, Liberia, Haiti, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Brazil, and our Pastor while born in the US, is of Mexican descent! Know that you have a place here among friends!
We are an International Church, loving and sharing Jesus with the global community of the Tower Grove East and the greater St Louis Metro Area, and then expanding our outreach according to the great commission.
We are a family-oriented , where everyone has a chance to find their place in God’s family, an opportunity to serve the Lord and most important of all, a chance to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
We see ourselves as a multicultural church simply because we have people from different countries, tribes and tongue that come together in one accord, lifting the name of Jesus together and bringing glory to the Lamb of God.
We currently have a congregation that is made up of those from Congo, Cameroon, Liberia, Haiti, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Brazil, and our Pastor while born in the US, is of Mexican descent! Know that you have a place here among friends!
