[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E700-E701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO ELDER DAVID J. YOUNG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 2009

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this 
opportunity to pay tribute before the House of Representatives to Elder 
David J. Young of the Church of God in Christ, who formed the first 
church of this denomination in the state of Kansas and served as an 
important, early spiritual leader in our community.
  The first Church of God in Christ in the state of Kansas was 
organized in Kansas City, Kansas, on September 23, 1916, at 409 Oakland 
by Elder David J. Young, with a charter membership of some twenty 
members. Less than two years later, in the early summer of 1918, it was 
destroyed by a fire set by an arsonist. Undaunted by this act of 
violence, Elder Young pushed forward, holding services under a nearby 
large shade tree, and later in the homes of charter members and other 
buildings until a new structure was built.
  Later, in 1960, a new church was constructed at 2401 North 9th 
Street, erected to the glory of the Lord as a ``Living Monument for 
which Holiness Stands'', and in honor of Elder Young. On October 9-11, 
2008, the D.J. Young Heritage Foundation hosted a revival, paying 
tribute to Elder Young and other pioneers of the Church of God in 
Christ. I am pleased to have this opportunity to share my support for 
this tribute by placing into the Congressional Record a biographical 
sketch of Elder David J. Young, which was provided by the D.J. Young 
Heritage Foundation.

                          David Johnson Young

       David Johnson Young was born in approximately 1861, in 
     Chester, South Carolina. Raised in the war-ravaged South, 
     young David ascended to unimaginable heights amid a climate 
     of severe racism and oppression of African Americans. Early 
     on, his parents perceived that young David was exceptionally 
     gifted and determined to use their meager means to afford him 
     the education that would prove invaluable for his life and 
     the countless lives he would impact through teaching and 
     ministry.
       He initially attended a country school with his siblings 
     but went on to graduate from Brainard Institute and Morehouse 
     College. David then set out to bring hope to his fellowman 
     through education. With illiteracy one of the most 
     devastating problems in the aftermath of slavery, David 
     Johnson Young brought access to a better future for many 
     during his career as an educator. Even later in his life as a 
     preacher, he would come to be recognized for his emphasis on 
     formal education in ministerial service.
       Still more remarkable was the life changing message of hope 
     brought by his fiery preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
     Beginning as a young preacher in the AME Zion Church, Elder 
     Young grew to be a widely known and sought after minister in 
     the South. He was also an editor of the official organ of the 
     AME Zion Church, the Star of Zion. Elder Young met his call 
     to preach with great fervor, evangelizing and serving as 
     pastor in various states including North Carolina, South 
     Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, 
     Alabama and Tennessee.
       In 1897, he was joined with Priscilla Louise Jones in 
     marriage, another stalwart of the faith. Mother Young served 
     as a true helpmate, covering and supporting D. J. with much 
     prayer and fasting. At times she even supported the family 
     with the small wages she earned as a music teacher while he 
     was out working on the evangelistic field. To their union 
     were born Harold, Melvin, Ceolya, Valleda, Russel, William, 
     and Rosette. As with other great leaders of the faith, their 
     ministry began in the home, where Mother Young taught each of 
     their children how to play two instruments. For example, 
     their eldest son, Harold, played the piano and guitar while 
     the second oldest, Melvin, was skilled in the piano and 
     violin. In fact, when they were yet small boys, Elder Young 
     often carried them with him on evangelistic crusades where 
     they would draw crowds in public areas, such as parks, with 
     their Holy Ghost filled praise and testimony services prior 
     to their father's sermon. With their father as their teacher 
     in the faith, they soon acquired the name, ``little boy 
     preachers.'' After D. J. Young's demise, Mother Young and 
     their children would take upon them the mantel once carried 
     by D. J. Young with the various ministries he began during 
     his latter years.
       Despite his many successes, David perceived the need to 
     ascend to the ``higher life'' and grew increasingly troubled 
     until he submitted to God's divine purpose for him to be 
     sanctified. With his background in Methodism he had received 
     teaching on the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost and God's 
     command for all His children to live holy. However, it was 
     during his pastorate in Chicago, IL, around the turn of the 
     century, that he became associated with a holiness group 
     known as the Burning Bush people and received the divine, 
     life changing experience of sanctification. Sanctification is 
     the work of the Holy Spirit in cleansing the believer from 
     all inbred sin, purifying their heart and filling them with 
     love for God and all people. Having thus been ``sanctified 
     and meet for the Master's use,'' 2 Timothy 2:21, Young set 
     out to share his testimony and declare God's wonderful plan. 
     David better understood that God made a way for men to be 
     justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, He didn't stop 
     there. For God also provided the means for His children to 
     live holy, separated unto Him, and freed from the very power 
     or slavery of sin. In truth, His will is for man to be 
     restored to the glorious image of God (Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24, 
     2 Cor. 3:18--note the active role of the believer).
       Indeed the message of sanctification, also called 
     perfection or holiness, had already started to sweep the 
     nation, reaching into nearly every mainstream denomination. 
     As a result scores of `Saints' left their denominations to 
     form new religious bodies. Such was the case with Elder Young 
     who, in approximately 1902, after graduating from the Burning 
     Bush Holiness Bible School, left the AME Zion Church and 
     became a mighty trailblazer in the Holiness Crusade. He 
     carried this new message far and near, preaching conversion 
     and sanctification.
       His path ultimately met with that of Charles Harrison 
     Mason, a former Baptist preacher, who also joined the ranks 
     of ministers who preached sanctification. Their bond grew as 
     D. J. Young joined the group of holiness preachers with which 
     Mason was affiliated. This group of Saints, led by Charles 
     Price Jones, was a leading force in the rapid spread of the 
     Holiness Movement in the South.

[[Page E701]]

       In 1907, Mason and Young, along with one of their brethren, 
     J. A. Jeter, started out on a spiritual journey that would 
     impact the world when the Lord led them to the famed Azusa 
     Street Revival, in Los Angeles, California. Led by Bishop 
     William J. Seymour, the small mission was a holiness group 
     who had taken a grand leap of faith in believing God for a 
     Pentecostal outpouring as recorded in Acts 2:4, ``And they 
     were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
     other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.'' Faithful 
     to His promise, God poured out His Spirit and the once small 
     group grew in number at a miraculous rate. Believers left 
     various states and even foreign lands to take the pilgrimage 
     to Azusa where they were ``Baptized with the Holy Ghost,'' 
     and experienced the only Bible evidence, speaking in unknown 
     tongues. In addition to this gift, the Lord poured out His 
     Spirit, with signs such as miraculous healings. One of the 
     most remarkable features of this wonderful move of God, 
     however, was the presence of unity in the Spirit as believers 
     cast away racism, sexism, classism, and various other sins 
     that find no place in the Body of Christ.
       One glorious day during this historic move of God David 
     Johnson Young was also graced with the precious Baptism of 
     the Holy Ghost. Having all received the new gift, the three 
     men journeyed back to Memphis leaving a blazing trail along 
     their way as they preached conversion, sanctification, and 
     the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. However, they were met with 
     severe disapproval. Ultimately, Jones and the official body 
     of believers he led, withdrew the right hand of fellowship 
     from them. Undaunted by this rejection by men and thoroughly 
     convinced of their commission by God, Charles Harrison Mason 
     and David Johnson Young called an assembly that same year, 
     gathering all those who believed as they. At this meeting, 
     the brethren considered who would oversee the new Holy Ghost 
     led Group and Young was one who many considered worthy of 
     this awesome task. According to oral tradition, after three 
     days of fasting and praying, God spoke through that same 
     servant, D. J. Young, who yet spoke in tongues and was given 
     the interpretation: ``God has given us Brother Mason to be 
     our leader.'' This gathering was the first national Holy 
     Convocation of the Church of God in Christ.
       After receiving this word from God, the fledgling 
     denomination was planted in Memphis, TN, but quickly spread 
     its roots throughout the country. D. J. Young served as a 
     leading instrument through his apostolic church building. He 
     was known and referred to as one of Mason's ablest assistants 
     during these formative years. With building churches as his 
     passion, Young was appointed the first Overseer, or Prelate, 
     of Arkansas, Texas, and Kansas. In 1910, while engaged in 
     apostolic work for the Kingdom, the Lord blessed D. J. Young 
     with an invention, ``The Young Musical Attachment for 
     Automobiles,'' which was patented first in Canada and later 
     the US. This tool proved invaluable as it complemented his 
     gifting as a musician during his evangelistic travels, 
     allowing him to ``produce harmonious chords'' as he played 
     music from his very own automobile. He also served as the 
     pioneer publisher of the Church of God in Christ with the 
     founding of the D. J. Young Publishing Company when the Lord 
     burdened him with the call to spread the full gospel in print 
     via ``The Whole Truth.''
       In 1916, elder Young made his way to his final earthly 
     dwelling in Kansas City, Kansas. Here he founded the first 
     Church of God in Christ, Young Memorial Church of God in 
     Christ, in the state, and immediately began working to 
     publish the first Sunday School literature for the still 
     young denomination. He continued this task, supplying many of 
     the early Saints with Spirit filled teaching, until his 
     demise. Before the time of his going from his labor to his 
     reward, in 1927, David Johnson Young, was successful in 
     building the D. J. Young Publishing Company into a much 
     honored source of gospel literature and established more than 
     twenty-five churches in Kansas. His works, however, live on 
     as evidenced by the thousands of souls he led to Christ, the 
     incredible growth of the Church of God in Christ, which he 
     was instrumental in building, and the phenomenal leaders he 
     helped nurture in the Christian Church at large.--Ladrian 
     Brown.

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