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History of the Apostolic Gospel Church of Mt. Sterling - A Church on the Move!
Rev. Jack Downey, a minister of the Gospel for over 50 years, He had, and still does, evangelized all over, and pastored. His home place was Portsmouth (New Boston), Ohio. He pastored in Greenup, Kentucky, Marion, Ohio and most recently, here. He resided in the Mt. Sterling area for several years and felt the calling of God to start a church in Mt. Sterling in 1987. Following God's calling, he asked the American Legion to rent the Legion Hall on Sundays. The amount was too expensive for him to pay from his own pocket each week, so he asked about renting the foyer of the American Legion building. The price was affordable, so he accepted the rental. The first service was held in the foyer of the Legion Building in February of 1987. At their first service, there were eleven people present: Pastor Downey and his wife and some friends, family and supporters. The second service, there were two people present. Jack Downey and his wife Phyllis. He said, "She sang to me and I preached to her."
They remained at the Legion foyer for a few months and passed by a storefront at 28 S. London St. and decided to rent it. He, along with some friends, remodeled the location to make it suitable for church services. The church quickly began to grow with those that were searching for a spiritual church and those that were in need. They remained in that location until 1991 when Pastor Downey saw a "for rent" sign at a building at 28 E. Main St. He, with the board of trustees, contacted Sonny Emrich and decided to lease the building on a five-year lease. Shortly after the building was converted to a church building, the congregation relocated to their new location, and the storefront building at 28 S. London St. unfortunately burned to the ground.
God blessed the services at this new location and much outreach was done while there. They decided to do Summer monthly Gospel Sings at the gazebo, with full cooperation with village officials. These were greatly successful. People that came to the Apostolic Gospel Church soon gave the church a nickname, "The Hospital Church," because there was so much spiritual and physical healing that occurred there. There was much prayer and fasting for growth and help in Mt. Sterling. And it still continues today. After the five-year lease, Mr. Emrich offered to sell the building and it was decided by the congregation to purchase it. They took out a fifteen-year mortgage on the building. Due to the generous giving of the members, the building was paid off in 5 ½ years. They also constructed an addition to the church for extra space for more Sunday School and functions. The church also decided to start a puppet ministry for the church and also traveled with their award winning puppet team. With a combination team of the Apostolic Church of Mt. Sterling and the Grove City Apostolic Church, the youth "quiz team" won the National Biblical Quiz Award presented by the United Pentecostal Church, International. God continued blessing the church in countless ways.
After years of pastoring and ministering in other locations, Pastor Downey felt the urging of God that it was time to retire from being pastor of the church. His age and long dedication was starting to wear on him. God had a plan for further growth that youth could bring. After much prayer, he finally decided to resign as pastor. There was unmistakably one person that could be a successor of and partner with Reverend Downey as pastor. It was the first person God placed in his mind. This minister had preached his first revival at Mt. Sterling with wonderful results and was a regular guest minister that the church loved dearly. His name is Reverend Darrell Kelly, who was then the Assistant Pastor of the Grove City Apostolic Church. In August 2002, the church had an open meeting and voted in Reverend Kelly as Pastor unanimously.
Pastor Kelly's style of preaching and the burden that he and his wife, Tami felt for the Mt. Sterling area made him the prime minister to continue in Reverend Downey's burden for the Mt. Sterling area. He was installed as Pastor in August 2002 and Pastor Downey was installed as Pastor Emeritus. Pastor Darrell Kelly and his wife Tami had a vision for Mt. Sterling of helping, ministering and aiding the community. Their commitment was so strong that they uprooted their residence in Columbus and bought a home, close to the church in Mt. Sterling.
After Pastor Kelly came, the church continued to grow. Almost immediately, it was decided to revamp the sanctuary and enlarge it for the growing crowds. They had to tear out a Sunday School room and kitchen to make more space for worship, which was the most important issue at that time. Many pitched in and the building on Main St. was remodeled. It soon got to the point that almost every Sunday there had to be chairs put out for extra seating. The church soon again became overcrowded and the search was on for a larger site, with room for expansion. In February 2006, the church decided to purchase the former Church of Christ, located at 15770 U S 62 SE. It seemed the perfect spot. The hard work then began once again to remodel another building. Within just a few months, the church was ready for services. The first service was held on May 7, 2006. They are holding on to the building, until it sells, at 28 E. Main St. and now use it as a Food Pantry and multi-purpose building.
They do not know what God has planned exactly for the future concerning the old building. One thing they do know is that God has promised them future growth.
Service times changed when the assembly moved to their new location: Sunday School is 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., Sunday Worship is 11:30 a.m., Tuesday Bible Study is 7:30 p.m., and Thursday Prayer is 7:00 p.m. There are many plans ahead for this growing church. You may check out their new website at www.msapostolic.com for information, pictures, links and much more.
In February 2007, The Apostolic Gospel Church of Mt. Sterling, Ohio celebrated 20 years of service to the Tri-County area!
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