Who we are

Holy City Church Of God In Christ began in the summer of 1987 in the home of Bishop Jerry and Lady Gloria Taylor. With an initial impetus to establish a weekly Monday night prayer service, the ministry would soon begin to grow which subsequently led to the first Sunday morning service being held in their home on January 17, 1988. In addition to Pastor Taylor and his family, the congregation consisted of two other families, the Brewers and the Kelleys. Albeit the ministry’s growth was encouraging, at this time, the church did not have a name. Yet being a man who did not move without God’s direction, he faithfully led his congregation and together they persevered. It was not until July 1988, while meditating, fasting, and in fervent prayer, Bishop Taylor was inspired to name the ministry “Holy City” as found in Revelation 21:2.

July proved to be a fruitful time for the ministry as it had now grown from three families to ten. During worship service, people sat in the living room, dining room, stairwell, and any vacant spot. In expectation of continued growth, Bishop Taylor located a building in the immediate vicinity and in 1991 moved the ministry from his home to a store front location at 7610 Highway 70. However, as with every good work, they would quickly outgrow the little storefront church. The sanctuary would fill early in worship service, and it was a known fact if you were late, you would have to stand. By 1994, Bishop Taylor sought to find another location.

On June 5, 1995, Holy City became the owners of a 3.7-acre property located at 3208 James Road. The property boasted an edifice which seated approximately 400 people and included spacious parking, a playground, and a house adjacent to the church with garage, and storage buildings. Since the original purchase, the ministry has added additional parking, a new foyer, new men and women’s restrooms, classrooms, prayer room, offices, and a balcony. A ramp was also constructed to make the front of the building wheelchair accessible. Bishop Taylor, a God ordained builder, completed most of the work himself and was on site daily to oversee the work performed by other contractors. With a strong belief in tithes, offering, and building fund drives, the ministry was able to pay off the mortgage on this property on April 2, 1999.

In June of 2001, we embarked upon building a new 1,000 plus seat sanctuary. Fourteen months later, on one glorious Sunday in August 2002, the saints of Holy City marched into the beautiful blue and white edifice giving God praise for all He had done. From our very modest beginnings, we presently have in excess of 800 families in our ministry. This still was not the end of our story as the glory of God continued to rest upon the ministry, and on July 1, 2006, Bishop Taylor led us into a multi-purpose family life center called “The Vision for Life Center.” Its purpose is to promote unity and the upbuilding of families. The facility consists of a gym, food pantry, concession, men and women clothes closet, multi-purpose room, arcade room, learning lab, bowling alley, sewing room, men and women restrooms with showers, laundry room, exercise room, game room with pool, air hockey tables, and a walking track.

A visionary leader unlike any other, etched in the heart of Bishop Taylor are plans to enhance the beauty and grandeur of our campus. These projects include purchasing surrounding properties to create a sports-plex that will include baseball fields, softball fields, and a playground with equipment for children. All of which will be enclosed by brick and wrought iron fencing. Just as there are 12 gates to the holy city in heaven, there will be 12 gates to our city, the Holy City Church Of God In Christ. Three gates in the east, three gates in the west, three gates in the north, three gates in the south, (Revelation 21:12-13). We are expecting great things from our ministry. As such, it is our desire to have room to accommodate any avenue necessary to reach souls.