In the spring of 1956, our church's founder, Reverend Leon C. Dicks, shared the Gospel with one of his brother's neighbors, Sis. Nellie McCovery. (She is now referred to as Bro. Dicks' first convert.) Sis. McCovery had been attending a church, along with a couple, Bro. Lessie and Sis. Ellen Allen, but problems in that church led all three, along with other members, to begin worshipping with Bro. Dicks. He began holding a series of cottage meetings in their homes. Bro. Dicks had been called into the ministry years earlier and served faithfully at a local church, but he was led by the Lord at that time to begin serving as an evangelist.

Having heard about the Apostolic Faith organization, Bro. Dicks visited the Portland headquarters and decided, along with his cottage meeting group, to align himself with the organization. Meanwhile, his ministry flourished and the number of new converts grew too numerous to continue meeting in homes, so the saints began searching for a regular meeting place. Before long, a minister who was previously unknown to Bro. Dicks offered him the use of a storefront church. They stayed at that location for about five years, during which time his membership more than doubled.

The congregation had to revive their search for a building, however, when a car crashed into the front of the church. By this time the Lord had blessed the Allens, who currently serve as church elders, with a home which they willingly allowed the saints to use in the interim. Services were held in their basement, and the Lord blessed mightily, as those early members can still attest. As the congregation continued to pray, the Lord soon answered their prayers.

In October 1964, the saints learned of the availability of what was then a Quaker meeting house, located on the corner of Washington and Lafayette Avenues. With overwhelming enthusiasm the congregation eagerly anticipated the prospect of purchasing the building. Though they consisted of fewer than 50 adults, which by then included saints who relocated from the southern Apostolic Faith churches and the Dominican Republic, they pooled their resources and agreed to sacrifice together to raise the necessary funds. In some cases, church members cooked dinners or baked pies in their homes to sell to each other after the services. Other members sewed aprons and made pledges of specific amounts of money. Families even agreed to deny themselves the familiar trappings and gifts of Christmas in order to donate their money to this more worthy cause. Their hard work and determination paid off when they acquired the building on January 10, 1965.

The founding pastor, Rev. Dicks, served his congregation faithfully for 31 years until his death in March of 1989. Under his ministry, the church flourished as it was featured on weekly radio and television broadcasts, as members were educated through the Berean Bible School and as children were cared for in the church-sponsored daycare center. Upon his God-ordained retirement, Bro. Dicks was immediately succeeded for a short time by his then assistant, Rev. Mary McClary, and later by Rev. Glory Thomas. Rev. McClary passed away in 1999 and Rev. Thomas now pastors a branch church in Apopka, Florida. Our current pastor is Rev. Robert M. Moore, who formerly pastored a branch church in Birmingham, Alabama.

The main sanctuary, which includes a choir loft and balcony, comfortably seats 350 people. Due to the overflow crowd present during Youth Conference, which is hosted by our church each year, and other special occasions, a closed circuit television was installed in the lower auditorium.

New York is a cosmopolitan city that draws people from various ethnic backgrounds and from all over the world. As such, our congregation consists of brothers and sisters from the Southern states in the US, the Caribbean, and various countries in Africa.

Our current evangelistic efforts include the children's, teen, youth and adult choirs, and Sunday school with classes ranging from tiny tots through adults. We also have an outreach group that visits various nursing homes in the area, and a kitchen ministry whereby visitors and members can feed their natural bodies after their spiritual needs have been met on Sunday mornings. Our church also sponsors an annual Youth Activity Day/Block Party that serves a two-fold purpose. It allows the youth to interact with others in the community and it gives a forum in which to personally invite passersby to attend the daily sessions and evening services of the Youth Conference, which always begins on the following Sunday — the last Sunday in August. The newest addition to our ministry is a website ( www.afcbrooklyn.org ) where visitors can listen and view live webcasts of Sunday morning services, download sermons dating back to 2003 and learn of upcoming events.

We give all glory to God for what He has allowed us to accomplish during our more than 40 years of ministry in the New York area. We also look forward to accomplishing more for His kingdom in the years ahead.

Information about the schedule of services for the church in Brooklyn is available here.