Church of God in Christ bishop Ernest Morris builds shelter and social programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ernest Morris acquired Grace Baptist Church in 1968 with help from Chestnut Hill Local readers, according to a follow-up to the paper’s earlier account of how he bought his first freestanding church building. The congregation began with 37 chairs in a small storefront and grew into one of Philadelphia’s largest faith communities.

In 1977, Rev. Morris moved the church to 7800 Ogontz Ave. in West Oak Lane. The larger facility allowed the congregation to start a mental health program, a men’s shelter and a Get Set daycare program for children. Morris recalled that the daycare nearly closed because its kitchen failed inspection. “We needed $10,000 to bring it up to code,” he said. “Then we got a check for $10,000 from a stranger I had never met before and was unable to even locate. But that helped us to save Get Set.”

By 1998, the congregation had outgrown that building, and Morris moved the church to its current location at 6401 Ogontz Ave. The 37,000-square-foot facility seats 3,000 people. The source says the congregation now has about 4,000 members, making it the third-largest church congregation in Philadelphia, behind Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cedarbrook and Calvary Chapel in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia.

The source describes the Church of God in Christ as an international Pentecostal denomination with more than six million members in the U.S., many of whom are Black. In 1999, Morris was elevated to bishop, with oversight of 30 churches in Philadelphia and New Jersey. He continued as senior pastor of Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ until 2010, when he handed that leadership to Bishop J. Louis Felton. He still preaches regularly and remains involved in issues across all 30 churches in his jurisdiction. “It keeps me busy,” said Morris, who recently celebrated his 92nd birthday. “I’ve gone all over the country to help start churches.”

The church’s social programs are a central part of its work. According to the source, Morris has started numerous ministries over the decades and built a staff of more than 150 full- and part-time employees, many of whom were earlier recipients of the church’s programs. The church operates Bethesda Manor, a shelter for about 200 homeless men and ex-offenders offering medical treatment, drug rehabilitation and vocational training. It also runs Stenton Family Manor, which houses and provides counseling and skills training for more than 250 abused and displaced women and children, a work of protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The source adds that the church has run a Welfare-to-Work program that has served hundreds of women and has maintained a scholarship program for 56 years.

The source says these programs reflect Morris’s original vision, inspired by seeing untended children in the streets, of creating a church that would also serve as a community resource addressing the full range of human needs.

Source: Read the original report