[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 7874-7875] [From the U.S. 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 [[Page 7875]] 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. 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. ____________________