“The Beginnings” Brooklyn: a tree grows there. It is a place of beginnings for many people new to America and a place of refuge for those seeking a foundation to build on. The culture is diverse, the people from far-flung places, the lifestyle a generous admixture of sound and sight and motion. The climate can be mild or extreme, the emotions the same. The languages defy the inherent barriers and meet on common ground on the basketball courts, in crowded apartment buildings, on sometimes dangerous streets, and in the school yards and playgrounds. This is the backdrop of the beginnings of Christian Heritage Church. The Church expanded from this outreach group of International Christian Center (ICC), now located in Staten Island, New York. The message then was to create groups in homes where the Bible would be the focal point of study and Christian values would be raised as the standard in their neighborhoods across the city. This was the vision of Dr. Benjamin Crandall as the Pastor and spiritual leader of ICC, ably assisted and supported by his wife Jeanne. Christian Heritage Church began from one of these embryos, an outreach group to the community, meeting on Tuesdays in the home of Albert and Merna Delmadge at 847 Eastern Parkway. This would become a landmark place in the eyes of the Church because of the fond memories, growing pains and sacrifices that would be involved in the use of this home. From Bible studies and prayer meetings the church grew. From Good News Clubs to Youth Camps, from occasional Sunday evening meetings to full Sunday meetings, from a four-person choir to many harmonious voices, the future began to take shape. From location to location, from a zero fund base to sacrificial giving, from a dedicated few to a growing congregation, from children with an attitude to adults with an aptitude for the things of Christ, a ministry would develop. And, now, from these humble beginnings, “The Vision Continues.” †
The embryo of this ministry was an adult cell group and Sunday School in the home of the Delmadges under the leadership of Rev. Lloyd Bewry, then Pastor of Olivet Gospel Assembly, Bronx, New York. In 1979, after the death of Hortense McCarthy, a dear beloved sister and sister-in-law, the Children's Ministry, including the Mail Box Club, began to thrive. During the 1980's, with the help of the three Delmadges sons, their young companions, and very faithful brethren, this ministry became officially an outreach of International Christian Center under the leadership of Rev. Dr & Mrs. N. Benjamin Crandall.
It seems as if it was just yesterday since we dedicated our first building and church to the Lord; but it occurred in 1989. Our mission has not changed. Our commitment and zeal remains. In fact, the Great Commission still echoes in and continues to burn in our souls. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…" (Mark 16:15). This verse cannot be replaced by any statements created by man, regardless of how impressive they may be. This simple command by our Lord Jesus Christ, when acted on by faith, will create a mighty impact upon all nations.
Looking back over the years causes us to reflect and examine ourselves. Although there are successes - (Praise to the Almighty) there must have been some missed opportunities. Christian Heritage Church is now Christian Heritage Ministries - which consist of Christian Heritage Church (Headquarters), Calvary Heritage Church (Hempstead, Long Island), Christian Heritage Church of Ghana, Christian Heritage Academy (Mission to Children), and Christian Heritage World Missions impacting Central America, the Carribbean and West Africa. Some of these ministries are very much in the infancy stage, however, they have been a part of our vision and no longer a desire, but now a reality. I will quote from my message to you as written in the dedication journal in 1997:
"The task cannot be done by any one person, but as a team we can do the impossible. Let us obey the call of Jesus to be one, putting our differences aside and go to work in His vineyard which is ripe and ready for harvest, for the day is far spent and the time is at hand. We must forget our differences, the color of our skins, our academic achievements, and our social standings. Let us get down off the mountain, and go up to the Mount of Transfiguration, where we will see Jesus. Let us hold hands together, not only in our churches, communities, cities, states, or continents, but across all lands. Then and only then, will we realize that it will take all people to bridge the world for Christ. Yes, let us not look back at the museums of yesterday. Yes, these may be memorial stones, but let us echo the call of Christ our Savior. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…" The work has just begun."
The Vision Continues… †
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited…And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54: 2,3,13
The vision was clear, but the door was closed and he went off to the “deserts” of Brooklyn where he lived, to ponder his next move. The vision was to reach the people in the neighborhood of the church he attended in the South Bronx. The opportunity and backing were absent. The journey home was sobering. He would find the largest church around and “hide” in the midst of it because of the frustration building in his heart. He thought that this place would be International Christian Center. Albert Delmadge had reached a crossroads in his commitment to Christ and wasn’t sure what the next step was, so meanwhile he waited.
God spoke one day and offered the riches of the world, hanging in the balance against the call of the ministry in the neighborhoods of New York City. It was either going to be riches in Florida or service at all costs in the City of New York. The City won. Stymied from completing a secular degree, he studied at the feet of the Master and has been guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. He has since received an Honorary degree from Zion Bible Institute presented by Dr. Crandall. The journey, however, began a long time before.
The visionary Dr. Crandall met a young man filled with the zeal of Christ and the commitment to move mountains where others would resign. Albert Delmadge met Pastor Crandall and uncertainty was abandoned as the vision once more opened before him. From an usher, to an Elder, to a member of the Church Board. Then the instruction came from Dr. Crandall, “You must leave here,” a prod to start the ministry in his Brooklyn neighborhood. The voice was clear, the direction sure, the call certain, and so the odyssey began.
From that time on he has been our Pastor, a friend to all, having a word in due time, a bastion of wisdom, a hand in need, sweating with us as we work to lay each foundation stone, crying for our souls, praying for our needs. Albert Delmadge was ordained a Minister of the Gospel of Christ on Sunday, June 18, 1987. To the uninitiated he is the Reverend Albert C. Delmadge; to those who work with him he is “Pastor D.” A young man once saw the need to reach the neighborhoods of New York City, and the need has grown into a cause, the cause into a Church.
And now, the City and the World wait, and “The Vision Continues.” †
The car pulled up at the steps of Alexander Hamilton High on Albany Avenue, a blue Chevrolet licensed to seat six. The smiling youthful driver popped out; his wife was with him. His children came pouring out too. The rest of the people he had brought to the youth meeting also came out. A car load of young men from the projects of Coney Island had been packed in with his family. This scene was an often repeated one through the years at different places in Bedford Stuyvesant. We had been journeying through the "deserts" of Brooklyn looking for a place to call home for a ministry that had grown too big for our initial site, the home of the Delmadges.
From the home of the Delmadges at Eastern Parkway, we traveled to P.S. 93, Old Boys and Girls High, Alexander Hamilton High (now Paul Roebeson) and The Fulton Community Restoration Plaza. For some places we made repeat visits; for others it was a single stop over a period of months. To keep up with the locale of the Youth meetings you had to be in tune with the movement of a people that was not just moving from place to place but drawing a wider circle of people to the Gospel of Christ. Some administrators wanted us to move out when they found out that we taught the way of salvation and not some other way. We moved on and prospered. We moved on and sought for a place to call our home. We moved on with Christ and His promises.
Sunday worship services were more stable. We started at Restoration Plaza in August 1987. We moved to a small hall on Eastern Parkway when our lease was not renewed. We moved again the following year to our present locale in March 1989. Now we want to start all over again in the places we have left, opening groups in the neighborhoods to meet the needs of the new faces that have taken the place of the ones that have moved out.
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The snow lay thick on the ground. The roads were slippery. The morning was cold and biting. Our young men were undaunted, our young women fearless. They were doing what they had been doing for what seemed like countless Sunday mornings and Friday afternoons. They were moving the necessary musical and audio equipment from the basement of the Delmadges’ home onto the church bus to go to the next meeting site. Everything had to be ready for that day’s meeting. It was time to move and get things going. They had been doing it for years and it seemed like there was no end in sight.
The perils of living as a people on the move are many. These young people were part of a body of people moving through the desert with their every possession seeking a place to call their own. They were part of Christian Heritage Church. Today, their jobs are different, but their spirit is still the same.
And now from these journeys of faith, "The Vision Continues." †
Moving from home to home, traveling from neighborhood to neighborhood, and carrying audio and music equipment to each meeting were signs of things to come. Each Sunday or Friday brought new challenges; each event carried its own moments of uncertainty. Remembering the words of Isaiah was a great comfort through it all: “In quietness and confidence is our strength.” As each challenge surfaced, we sought the Lord and we overcame by walking in His care.
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The fight was raging on the steps of Old Boys and Girls High that afternoon. Two of our girls and some teenagers from the neighborhood were caught up in a struggle of wills and words, clothes and hair, hands and feet, and maybe other undisclosed things. There was turmoil in the streets as people gathered around for the outcome of the unannounced lightweight fight between the visiting Christians and the local heroes. Many of our people were from similar areas of the city. They had learned to put up or shut up. Still seeking the truth, yet at times choosing the ways of the streets, which was to fight back, no backing down. In this case our referees stopped the fight short of the final bell, the result a no-decision. Sure there were challenges, and we have some from those same streets who have overcome in the name of the Lord.
Growing up is hard on the pocketbooks of the less affluent. As a young ministry, doing business on an uncertain income was equally as hard. Gifts were always welcome, and they still are. We still have and use some of those gifts in our ministry today. During the years we have found out that the value of gifts placed in the hands of the Lord is much greater than the value of that which is left in our own hands. As we gave, He blessed and multiplied; as we have laid a foundation of faith, He has laid a foundation of blessings. Others have come asking for our secret. We have told them that there is no secret. We have given sacrificially and God has supplied skilled laborers and skilled craftsmen and visiting strangers to help us to build a tabernacle for the worship of God.
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Quitting time to some comes soon after eight hours have passed. To others it is when the work is complete for that day. In our church people have multiple jobs, wear different hats and are used to sleepless nights. On some of the nights we pray, on others we work. Many of our leaders and members go from work to church, from school to church and now in the morning from church to work or school. The challenge of the need for more hands is always before us, but we must go on. We do not look to abandon the challenges; we look for even more. For where man has said, “It is impossible,” God will part the seas.
And so, regardless of the circumstances, “The Vision Continues.” †