Our History

THE CHURCH HISTORY

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF MINISTRY

In 1917, Saint James Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ was founded by George and Daniel Dupree (two laymen brothers who lived in the community). The church's ministry began as a Sunday School. The Church's name was changed in 1966 to Saint James Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our anniversary is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in the month of May. Saint James Christian Church has called five Senior Pastors: Rev. George Washington Little (1917-1920); Bishop Wilbert B. Parks (1920-1959); Rev. Amos Artis, Sr. (1959-1976); Rev. Dr. Charles E. Barnes (1979-2020); and Intern Pastor Rev. Mary Ann Glover (2020-2021). On December 1, 2021, the Reverend Dr. Della J. Owens was called to serve as the Senior Pastor.

Over the years, Saint James Christian Church has supported the Pitt and Wilson County communities as well as other County Communities in North Carolina through the following ministries:

Representatives from the Wilson County Agricultural Center provided 4-H Club activities for the youth in the church and community at large. Members of the church participated in agricultural activities such as farming practices and competitions.

Between 1979 — 1997, St. James Migrant Head Start program served 400 children ages 6 months to five years and provided services to migrant farm workers and their children from nine counties (Pitt, Wilson, Nash, Johnston, Wayne, Greene, Edgecombe, Harnett, and Sampson Counties).

The children were served in four centers located in Fountain, Bailey, Clayton, and Dudley, NC. The Bailey and Fountain Centers received national accreditation from the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The program not only cared for children and families, but also employed college students and other individuals from the various counties.

In 1998, the St. James Plaza in Wilson, NC was established by the National Benevolent Association and SJCC. This facility provides care and housing for 40 Senior citizens. Currently, we facilitate a worship service for the residents every third Saturday. 

In 2002, Saint James Promise an America's Promise model was birthed through the leadership of Clyde Garner. The Promise Keepers were Clyde Garner, David Ballard, Kelvin Little, and Billy Locus. The mission of Saint James Promise was to mobilize people from within the church and community to build the character and competence of our youth by fulfilling five promises (Caring Adults, Safe Places, Healthy Start, Marketable Skills, and Opportunities to Serve).

In 2012, Saint James Christian Church hosts an Annual Health Expo which includes health and dental care screenings, and the American Red Cross Blood Drive.

Between 2016 — 2018, Saint James Christian Church is sponsoring Eating Healthy and Exercise = A Healthy Lifestyle Project funded by the Healthcare Foundation of Wilson. The obesity prevention project provides nutrition and physical fitness classes for children, adolescents, and adults. The classes are free and are held weekly for seniors (ages 65+) at St. James Plaza and for children ages 6-12, adolescents, and adults at the SJCC's Administrative Office. Our goal is to assist 125 individuals with healthy eating, exercise, weight loss, and a healthy lifestyle.

The following ministries are a part of Saint James Christian Church: Intercessory Prayer, Evangelism, Health and Wellness,  Creative Arts Ministry, Youth Ministry, Alabaster Women, Men of Valor, Community Outreach Minister, Social Media/Communications and Hospitality Ministry. 

In 2022, God has done some exciting things under the leadership of our new pastor the Reverend Dr. Della J Owens. Her first commitment was to safely get the congregation back into the sanctuary after being sheltered for two years because of COVID-19. We wrote and adopted COVID safety protocols and develop a plan of action to come back into the sanctuary. Our first worship celebration together as a congregation was on December 5, 2021. 

The worship services were live streamed for those who did not feel safe to come back into the sanctuary. When there was another strand of COVID-19 and an increase of cases in North Carolina, we decided to close the doors again for the safety of the congregation. The worship service was prerecorded so that we could still hear the preached word of God and have a worship experience through E-Church. We have had over seven thousand dollars of in-kind donations to build out our Media Ministry with a new digital sound board, spotlight, LED lights in the sanctuary, OBS, microphones, upgrades to our internet services, etc. With our different social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube we are live streaming our services across the country. We have established a new web page at www.stjamesdoc.org for rebranding for the ministry. April 2023, we expanded our evangelism reach via radio every Friday night at 7PM on STEP 98.1.

In November 2022, we had our first Fall Festival that was organized by our Youth Ministry. Our first Alabaster Women's Conference "Becoming New" in September 2022. We have had three leadership training conferences. We had a Voter Mobilization in November 2022 event partnering with Rev Up, Inc. and Bishop William J. Barber, II. We have extended our Community Outreach Ministry with partnerships with the Wilson House. Every month we provide a worship service and serve refreshments to the residents. We have partnered with the Way Maker every second Sunday assisting them with giving food to those who are in need in the community. The praise team was named “Voices of Praise.”

We established a new vision statement for Saint James Christian Church that we shall be a body of believers who embrace the great commission of winning souls for the kingdom of God. We strive to serve Jesus with joy and our community with compassion. We emphasize a lifestyle of holiness that imitates Jesus Christ, demonstrating God’s love and standing for justice for the least, the lost, the left out, and the left behind.