The Apostolic Faith Church
in Seattle, Washington

In 1913, a young man was serving in the United States Army at Fort Worden, not far from Port Townsend, Washington. As a lad in the hills of Ohio, he had witnessed strife at home between his father and mother to the point it seemed the home would be divided and the children scattered in different directions. The young boy was so distressed by the prospect of a broken home that he went to a barn to pray. He vowed to the Lord that if God would keep his family together, he would give his heart to Him and be a Christian when he reached twenty-one years of age. The Lord answered the prayer and preserved the home.

As the soldier in Fort Worden neared his twenty-first birthday, he knew it was time to pay his vow and to seek the Lord. One Sunday afternoon on a pathway leading from the fort, he stepped aside to an old stump in the forest and made that his altar of prayer. He repented of his sins and promised God that he would serve Him. In his prayer, he told God that he would not leave the woods until he knew that he had received salvation. The devil tried to discourage the young soldier by saying, “What if you miss the roll call at the army post tonight?” The Lord seemed to say, “I’ll take care of that.” The thought then came, “What if I have to pray all night in the woods before I know that I am saved?” But he knew it would be better to pray all night than to spend eternity in Hell.

His testimony continued, “Within minutes, I prayed through to victory. Across the threshold of my life stepped Jesus. He made a change in my heart I can never forget. A sweet, holy peace came over my entire being. In a moment of time, God had made me a new creature—and I was back in the army post in time for the evening roll call!”

This soldier, Allen Crabtree, had enlisted in the Lord’s army and served until his dying day. He became an eloquent minister of the Gospel. He worked throughout the Midwest, and during World War II, he was located in San Francisco. After the war, Reverend Crabtree moved to Yakima, Washington, and from there, he felt a spiritual burden for Seattle. After talking over the prospects of establishing an Apostolic Faith Church in Seattle with the General Overseer, Reverend Raymond Crawford, he moved to Seattle. Soon, he opened his home for cottage meetings, and the attendance began to grow. A storefront was rented early in January of 1956, at 2010 First Avenue. After a month long renovation, the building was dedicated. It was small, but it was a start, and the steady increase in attendance continued.

The church was moved two times before a permanent location was purchased in April of 1963, at 7420 9th Avenue NE, in a residential area of Seattle. Three stories tall, the building was formerly a Baptist college. The sanctuary is on the first floor, with a number of individual classrooms on the second and third floors. The church is an impressive structure and can easily be seen from Interstate 5, which is the freeway that intersects the city from north to south.

Outreach efforts by the Seattle Apostolic Faith Church include mission and rest home meetings, Sunday school, and a large reader board sign. Many people in that part of Seattle know the church as “The church with the sign.” The sign, which is next to a freeway used by thousands of rush-hour drivers each day, has been the source of inspiration and even irritation for many years. It has been written up in the local newspapers several times, with the pastor being interviewed as to why the message on the sign said what it did. Over the years, the church has received a number of phone calls and letters supporting the conservative Christian viewpoint and Scriptures that have been placed there. They also get comments from those who oppose the message. It shows the sign is having a large impact in provoking people to think!

One newspaper writer, desirous of learning more about the sign, attended a Wednesday night Bible Study with the intention of talking to the pastor. She commented in her column in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “It was a good and lively gathering of elders, teens, and young families—a kind of spiritual book club in which well-read members took turns talking about their favorite plots, passages, and characters before saying a final and emotional prayer.”

Seattle’s location puts the Apostolic Faith congregation within three hour’s travel time to several other Apostolic Faith branch churches. Several times a year, the Seattle congregation joins with members of these congregations for special meetings. These neighboring churches also combine with Seattle for a yearly youth camp on Whidby Island. Since these other churches are so close, the church “family” is much larger than just the congregation in Seattle.

Reverend Howard Wilson is the current pastor in Seattle. He and his wife, Gale, along with their three children, moved to the Seattle area in June of 2002.

For information about the schedule of services for the Seattle, Washington Apostolic Faith Church please visit their church location page.