History of First Century Gospel Church to Current Head Pastor James A. Clark

First Century Gospel Church New Jersey, U.S.A. was founded from it's "mother church," The Faith Tabernacle Congregation by Pastor Ambrose Clark of blessed memory in late 1925. 

In the early 1900s, through the leadership and ministry of Pastor Ambrose Clark, the Church spread around the world, initially in the United States, West Indies and into West Africa through mail distribution of tracts. 

Pastor James Ambrose Clark, the current Head Pastor and grandson of the founder stated that when his grandfather was Pastor at The Faith Tabernacle Congregation, he was inspired by the teachings of trusting in God's "Divine Healing" by faith in Jesus Christ's Atonement, without the application of medicines by Reverend John Alexander Dowie in the late 1890s.  After examining the scriptural references quoted by Reverend Dowie, Head Pastor Ambrose Clark also decided to place his faith in God by trusting the Blood of Jesus Christ to heal his chronic inability to eat solid food after all the doctors and medications had failed to heal him . 

To put his newfound faith the LORD Jesus Christ into action, Pastor Clark instructed his wife to prepare the meal and when he ate it, he was instantly healed, and he also decided to start teaching the Gospel of "Divine Healing" of the Lord Jesus Christ.  From then on, the Church under Pastor Clark spread rapidly around the world as a result of the miraculous healings wrought on all the sick and afflicted of the devil, through prayer and faith in God's Word - Isaiah 53:4-6..

After ministering at Faith Tabernacle for eight  years, and due to some major differences there was a split, Pastor A. Clark left the Faith Tabernacle, and in late 1925, he established another church.  His family and about two-thirds of the congregation from Faith Tabernacle made up the new First Century Gospel Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., because they realized that God's Holy Spirit was using him to preach the Truth and the Gospel of Salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In 1919, the Faith Tabernacle Congregation was introduced into the then Gold Coast (now Ghana) through two brothers, Josephus Cobbina and Sackey Sam in Winneba, Ghana.  The Faith Tabernacle Congregation is thus the oldest "evangelical" church in Ghana, aside of the older so-called "mainstream" or "orthodox" churches.

Click here to read the personal testimony of Pastor A. Clark

In the mid 1920s, Pastor Ambrose Clark appointed his eldest son Henry as pastor over stations in New York City, Newark and in Eastern Pennsylvania, while the elder Clark remained the Head Pastor of the First Century Gospel Churches in the USA and worldwide. 

As God multiplied the congregation, some of the Cuban-American members through conversations informed their relatives in Nigeria that they have found a new church that believes in Faith in God, and in Divine Healing, to heal them without the use of medicines or doctors.  This information aroused their curiosity and the relatives in Nigeria requested literature from the Church in the United States of America. 

Separately, in the neighboring West African country of Gold Coast (now Ghana), through God's divine intervention, some elders at the then Methodist Church in Winneba, Ghana, read a tract they picked up on the street, entitled the "Sword of the Spirit." This and other sermons written by Pastor Ambrose Clark gave the Methodist Church elders spiritual confidence that God would answer and heal them of their diseases if they trusted his Divine Power. 

They believed the Gospel of Healing that if anyone became sick or was diseased and surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusted, obeyed and believed in Him by faith, and ask for the Holy Spirit's Power, with a determination not go back to using human means or trusting in man or "pill" to heal, and claiming God's promises in 1st John 1:9, Psalm 103:3, Isaiah 53:5, John 15:7 and John 16:23,24 God would heal them. 

These elders applied the principles and were encouraged by the victorious results. Not long after, the First Century Gospel Church Ghana branch was formed by these elders under the supervision of Pastor Henry Clark.  God did amazing miracles that even doctors in Ghana referred patients from their hospitals to the Winneba church branch for prayers and healings.  While Divine Healing is the cornerstone of our faith in Jesus Christ, we also believe that our Heavenly Father would prefer that we worship Him with cleansed, holy and pure hearts - bearing fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-25

"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward  walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

Pastor Ambrose Clark assigned his son Pastor Henry F. Clark the responsibility of corresponding with and supervising the ordination of pastors in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo in West Africa, and in Jamaica, West Indies.

Later, another conflict of church administration arose in the Clark family; the other children of Pastor Ambrose Clark, led by Pastor Edgar Clark, accused Pastor Henry of "leaving the church and preaching a different message of false and suspicious teaching."  Pastor Edgar Clark instructed the African members not to have anything to do with Pastor Henry's teaching or advice.

The division of the church persisted, and a new First Century Gospel Church New Jersey was formed under Pastor Henry, who was highly commended by his father, Pastor Ambrose Clark in letters to the African churches.  Those who believed Pastor Edgar Clark formed The First-Century Gospel Church in Philadelphia, USA, under the now leadership of Head Pastor Nelson A. Clark who is a nephew of our current Head Pastor, James A. Clark, son of Henry Clark of First Century Gospel Church New Jersey, USA.   The two Clark pastors have almost similar doctrines as those taught by the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, also in Philadelphia.

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What We Believe About GOD and Jesus Christ:

Because of God's Amazing Love, Mercy and Grace through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we strongly believe that our Almighty Father and God, does NOT permit sicknesses and diseases to plague us so that we can draw closer to Him.  We believe that the Atonement and Substitutionary Work that the Lord Jesus completed on Calvary's Cross gives us the right to enjoy God's perfect peace and protection and healing of our body.  Rather, we believe that sin and the devil, satan and deceiver is behind all the sicknesses, problems and bad things happening in the world today. 

Consider this:

Would any loving father permit cancer, accidents and all the terrible diseases to inflict his children in order to enable them draw closer to their father? Nothing tragic or evil comes from our Almighty God. The devil is behind all the problems we see in the homes and society, and it is only through the Power of the Holy Spirit which has made us victorious over the devil that can sustain us and protect us. Psalm 23 and Psalm 91.

Our Prayers:

We pray that at God's ripe time, the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Eternal (Life) Security that He has given to all true Christians would be evident to our brethren around the world as we express Christian love, unity and harmony with one another.  Amen

WE proclaim the Gospel that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Apostles preached in the First Century: the Gospel of Repentance, Baptism, Divine Healing, Faith, Forgiveness, Grace, God's Grace, Love, Mercy, Obedience, and Salvation unto Eternal Life through Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  With the Holy Spirit's Power, we sincerely love our neighbors (Mission Statement) and (Statement of Faith), sacrifice our time for anyone who might need our services as the Good Samaritan did in Luke 10:30-37; 1 John 4:7-8, we lovingly obey and Carry the Cross and Count the Cost of following our Lord Jesus Christ an eternal blessing.