[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 34 (Friday, February 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E281-E282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING NEW GREEN GROVE CHURCH OF FAITH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 28, 2014

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable historical church, New Green Grove Church of Faith of 
Greenwood, Mississippi and the great leadership it is under.
  Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, Mississippi was 
founded in 1909. It was founded by a dedicated group of people who 
wanted a place to worship. Services were held each fourth Sunday. In 
1965, Green Grove M.B. Church was destroyed by fire and was completely 
rebuilt 1\1/2\ years later.
  Since the church's inception, it has served under nine pastors and 
several outstanding officers. Reverend Milton L. Young, the eighth 
pastor, served for a period of fifty-four years. Reverend Young was a 
wonderful pastor. Under his leadership many souls were brought to 
Christ.

[[Page E282]]

  In 1995, Pastor Young's health began to fail. He suffered a stroke 
causing paralysis to his left leg. Reverend Milton Glass presided 
briefly in his absence and in July of 1995, Pastor Glass was elected 
``shepherd over the flock'' with 25 active members.
  The Church's name was changed in 1995 to New Green Grove M.B. Church. 
Today, it is called New Green Grove Church of Faith. From October, 1995 
to August, 1996, New Green Grove began holding its services at Jones 
Chapel #1 because of costly water problems in its building. Easter 
Sunday of 2001, New Green Grove Church of Faith celebrated the 
dedication of its current sanctuary. On February 10, 2008, the church 
held its Mortgage Burning Service to celebrate the completion of their 
mortgage.
  Under Bishop Glass' leadership, many services have been added to 
spiritually feed the members of the church. Worship is every Sunday 
with the exception of the fifth Sunday. Sunday School, Bible study and 
Intercessory Prayer Service are included in their weekly worship 
schedule.
  Over the years, the pastor and members of New Green Grove Church of 
Faith have added spiritual growth programs to help the church become 
more knowledgeable of the Gospel. Some of these programs are: New 
Membership Orientation, Men of Standard Men's Ministry, Saturday Early 
Morning Prayer Service and an active Missionary Society.
  The Congregational Health Ministry is an ongoing ministry to help the 
members take care of themselves physically, while maturing spiritually. 
Also established is the church website which is 
www.newgreengrovechurchoffaith.org. In 2010 the Audio/Visual Ministry 
was instituted which included the CD/DVD tape ministry.
  On May 19, 2002 the sister church, The Living Word Church, a division 
of Catch the Vision Ministries was established in Lake City, Florida 
under the leadership of Pastors Vernon and Mitzi Singleton with Bishop 
Milton Glass as the overseer.
  With the need to transport their members to and from services the 
church purchased a church bus in 2002. The bus served its purpose, 
however; in 2009, it was sold and replaced with a second van and a 25 
passenger bus. The transportation ministry is always ready to assist 
the members who don't have a ride to church.
  With the increase of its membership over the years, New Green Grove 
had to physically expand. One area of expansion is the purchase of 
twenty acres of land in 2003 located across the street from the church. 
In 2009, part of that land was converted into a parking lot to assist 
with the overflow of parking. Future plans and the vision of Bishop 
Glass is to use the remainder of the land to build a Spiritual Life 
Center to further support the outreach ministry in the community.
  Currently, they are adding 4,500 sq. ft. for additional classrooms 
and fellowship hall space. Today, they have over 700 members with an 
average attendance of 400 each Sunday.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing New Green 
Grove Church of Faith for its contribution to the black community and 
black churches.

                          ____________________