The Lord’s Church Ministries, Inc. was established on May 21, 1993 with Rev. Tommy Harley as the Pastor along with Deacon Clarence Hampshire. Initially, there were ten adult members along with the children of those members. The first services were held in the home of Mrs. Angela Thomas in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Services were then moved to the home of member, Mrs. Patricia Rabalis in Orange Park, Florida. Shortly after, we moved to an office building on Highway 17 in Orange Park and held services there until moving to a chapel on Peoria Road in Orange Park. Services were held at that location for several years before moving to St. Luke Baptist Church in Hibernia, Florida. We shared use of the church with members of St. Luke since their members only held services twice a month. We continued Sunday services every week with adjusted starting times.
From the beginning of the Lord’s Church Ministries, services have been held every Sunday along with weekly Bible study on Wednesday nights. Throughout the years, we have searched for land or an existing building to purchase to establish a permanent home for the church. Many people have been a part of and under Watch Care at The Lord’s Church Ministries through the Help Center in Jacksonville, Florida. When most of those clients completed their stay at the center, they returned to their previous homes in other cities. It has been God’s work to receive and help those individuals when they were anyway from home. We rejoice that we have been able to help so many.
Rev. John Reese was an assistant to Rev. Harley for many years; helping him with pulpit duties. Our next place of worship is where we are located now, 1711 Blanding Blvd, Jacksonville, Florida. We moved to this building in June 2005. We received many years of Bible based teaching under the able leadership of our beloved Pastor, Rev. Harley. Rev. Harley passed away on Sunday, August 25, 2013. He had preached a wonderful sermon at the Lord’s Church the same day that he died. We know where he is and rejoice that he is at rest with God. We continue to pray for the lives of Rev. Tommy and Mrs. Marian Harley. From August 2013 to February 2015, we were without a pastor. God gave Deacon Clarence Hampshire the vision and wisdom to lead and keep the congregation on the right path. Rev. John Reese and visiting pastors conducted weekly services from August 2013 to February 2015. Updated October 2019 In February 2015, God sent Rev. Doryn Whitlock to the Lord’s Church Ministries.
We were richly blessed and we were so happy to receive Rev. and Mrs. Joyce Whitlock. We looked forward to many years of working here on earth to spread God’s word and follow the commandments of the Bible under the able leadership of Rev. Whitlock. To our loss, on January 17, 2016 Rev. Whitlock tendered his resignation citing direction from God to leave the pastor ship at The Lord’s Church Ministries. With sadness, we accepted his resignation. We continue to pray God’s blessings on Rev. Doryn and Mrs. Joyce Whitlock. Rev. Leroy Roundtree accepted the pastor ship on February 7, 2016. He had served as the assistant pastor to Rev. Whitlock.
The entire congregation welcomed Rev. Roundtree & Mrs. Linda Roundtree along with their grandson Sean. Currently, Rev. Roundtree is assisted by pastors, David Dupree, John Sanders and Brad Toliver. In September 2016, God led Rev. Roundtree to vacant land on the westside of Jacksonville at the corner of Jammes Road and Morse Avenue. Currently, we own 4 acres of land mortgage free. We are so grateful to God that Rev. Roundtree accepted the call to lead the Lord’s Church Ministries and to help us follow God’s plan.
