We are delighted you have visited our home on the web and hope you find it useful and informative. With over 161 years of being the hands and feet of Jesus, we represent the faith of past triumphs and the hope of a brighter future.
Our church extends an invitation to all who seek the faith of Jesus Christ; to all who love the fellowship of His church, to all who desire the friendship of the family of God, with love and justice. We gladly and warmly welcome you in the name of Christ our Lord.
W E L C O M E!!!
"...Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty!"
II Corinthians 3:17
Fun, Dance, Fellowship, and a Great Way to get in Shape Tuesay, Jan 9, 16, 23, and 30 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Service with Christ Fellowship Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. David Kelly II, Pastor Thursday, January 12 7:00 PM
Encore Presentation of For Christian Girls Only
$10.00 Admission Sat., Jan. 28, @ 5:00 PM Doors open at 4:30 PM
Prayer & Praise
Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM
Sundays
Wednesdays
Hour of Power 7:47 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Morning Worship 11:00 AM
Communion 2nd Sundays 7:00 AM & 11:00 AM Baptisim 2nd Sundays 11:00 AM
Prayer and Praise 6:30 PM Bible Study 7:40 – 8:40 PM
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Dr. Gus Roman - Our Eighteenth Pastor
Pastor Roman led Berean on a course of inner revitalization and outer community witness.
The church fostered spiritually and socially centered ministries for the nurturing & development of the church & community.
The Board of Christian Education was organized which led many of our conferences, retreats and workshops.
The Saturday Church School & Church Scouting Conference implemented.
The Berean Bible Institute was expanded to five satellite in Brooklyn & Queens as well as a correspondence course was added to the curriculum.
The Prayer Tower was developed to foster to the need and strengthening of the prayer life of Berean.
Pastor Roman implemented a new church record and financial management system with the purchase of a new IBM computer.
A new parsonage was purchased at the cost of $150,000.
The Berean parking lot was expanded & paved.
A new Rodgers Pipe Organ was purchased and paid for in full at the cost of $170,000.
The Berea Federal Credit Union was established.
A strong and revitalized effort on missions was implemented with the giving of $10,000. to the Ethiopian Hunger Project. Also an increase in giving to our foreign mission conventions.
Two Missionaries were sponsored in Liberia and support was given to a Haiti hospital.
The 110 voice choir from Calvary Baptist Church in Accra, Ghana, West Africa was sponsored to come to America and perform at Berean and throughout Brooklyn and the eastern seaboard.
The Ministry of Evangelism was organized to meet the need of a strong witness in the Berean community. An annual six week Summer Street Outreach Ministry was implemented.
The Berean Community & Development Center was organized with a full time director and social worker.
Berean hosted the first & second Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. ,Holiday Celebration (Boro-wide)
In response to the internal problems at the 77th precinct, Berean organized a community & police breakfast to address the concerns of the community & precinct.
Summer Youth employment, a clothing & emergency food bank, meals on wheels, general counseling and employment referral, The Berean Housekeeping Services and A Senior Citizens Program were all implemented under Pastor Roman's tenure.
The Good Samaritan House was opened. (to give emergency housing to two family displaced by fire)
Our Annual Easter Sunrise Service was held yearly at St. John's Park & an Easter Parade (after morning Worship Service) throughout the Berean community ( what was called "Berean's Palestine: Albany, Kingsboro and the Howard Houses - St. John's Place to Atlantic & Ralph to Albany Avenues.)
Pastor Roman was instrumental in organizing the Association of Brooklyn Clergy for Community Development (ABCCD) and the United African - American Churches of New York State. (UAAC-NY) the first full time statewide Black lobby group in the state's history to address the issues affecting the needs of African- Americans in the State of New York. (at the State Capitol in Albany, NY)
Pastor Roman's keen insight on the power of the Holy Spirit organized many conferences and conducted many services around the "Holy Ghost and the Believer." which drew participation from area churches throughout the borough of Brooklyn.
On the 4th Sunday in June 1988 Berean sadly bids farewell to Pastor Roman as he resigned to accepted another called in Philadelphia, PA
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The Reverend Dr. Arlee Griffin, Jr.
...is a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina where he was a member of the Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church and an honor graduate of Northeastern High School. He received several scholarships to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology.
He attended Shaw Divinity School and earned the Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has done additional study at East Carolina University, Oxford University in Oxford, England, New York University, the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York City and the Summer Leadership Institute at Harvard Divinity School. In May 1988 he graduated from Boston University with the Doctor of Ministry degree. In April 1992 Shaw Divinity School awarded him the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. In March, 2009 he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he will earn the Master of Public Administration degree in May, 2010.
For nearly ten years, Dr Griffin served as Pastor of the Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina where he led the church in re-location and built multimillion dollar facilities in the Medical Park district of the city. While in Greenville, he established the Cornerstone Christian Child Care Center, served as President of Pitt County Black Ministerial Alliance, Moderator and Vice Moderator of the Old Eastern Missionary Baptist Association, Parliamentarian of the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and Trustee of Pitt County Memorial Hospital. He was also selected in 1985 as "Pastor of the Year".
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Rev. Byron LeaVance Benton
...serves as the Associate Pastor of the Berean Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY under the mentorship of the Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Arlee Griffin, Jr. Rev. Benton's pastoral focus is on worship, pastoral care, youth and information technology. He sits on the board of directors for the Berean Community and Family Life Center. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Rev. Benton has traveled extensively throughout the United States preaching the gospel and Liberia, Africa preaching and partnering with the National Baptist Convention in Liberia as well as local churches and pastors in that area.
Rev. Benton is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University where he majored in Business Education with a concentration in Administrative Systems. He completed his Master's of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he focused his studies on homiletics and pastoral care.
During his tenure at A&T and Princeton, he juggled university, church, and community endeavors. At A&T he sat on the board of several programs that reached out to troubled youth in the Greensboro area and served as the percussion section leader and chaplin of the A&T University Band also known as The Marching Machine. He has served as a chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey and Chaplain of the Association of Black Seminarians at Princeton Theological Seminary. There, he also served on the African American Concerns Committee. While at Princeton he was awarded the Ray Lindquist Award in Pastoral Care, Aaron E. Gast Award in Urban Ministry, Jagow Award in Homiletics and Speech, and the Ray Lindquist Award in Pastoral Care.
Alongside his ministerial endeavors, Reverend Benton instructed an urban charter middle school drum-line at the Imani Institute in North Carolina and has started a community drum-line in Brooklyn, NY through the Berean Community and Family Life Center. Reverend Benton reflects on the training and Godly examples set by his grandparents, Rev. and Mrs. Isaac C. Spinks, and owes much of his strong spiritual background to their presence in his life during his formative years.
Berean Members of the Week
display a passionate love for Jesus and service to our church. Congratulations to all our members who have received this prestigious recognition.
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Dr. Hylton Lancaster James - Our Seventeenth Pastor
Pastor James accepted the call and was welcomed by the church on May 2, 1948.
Led Berean into national & international prominence.
Organized many auxiliaries which many are still in existence today.
Berean gave large donations to foreign & local missions conventions.
Many auxiliaries were assigned to render service to local Nursing homes.
The Berean Bible Institute was born.
A Child Care & Day Nursery was established.
Pastor James led Berean into building a new edifice at the cost of a quarter million dollars opened on April 9, 1961. On this occasion to anchor the church in its mission objective, the term "Missionary" was added to the permanent name of the church.
The mortgage was burned on September 28, 1975 seven years ahead of schedule.
Pastor James served as President of the Baptist Minister's Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity. As well as, Moderator of the Eastern Baptist Association of Brooklyn & Long Island. Pastor James led the Association in the purchase of an Executive Office Complex in Brooklyn and served in several other denominational offices of note.
Pastor James set apart two churches during his tenure, The White Memorial Baptist Church under the pastorate of a Berean son, Reverend Gerald White and the Bethesda Baptist Church with its pastor Berean son, Reverend Charles Nesbitt, Sr.
Pastor James ordained and sent out the Reverend Blanton Harper who pastors the Liberty Hill Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.
During Pastor James tenure The Lord's Supper service on the second Sunday afternoon drew a large outside crowd of believer's ( sister churches) due to it's richness & powerful witness.
Pastor James was called from labor to reward on Wednesday, November 8, 1978 while conducting Prayer Service from the pulpit in the chapel (the old church sanctuary) where his ministry at Berean began.
On Sunday, September 15, 2002 in honor of the work & leadership of Dr. James: Bergen Street was co - named from Ralph Ave to Albany Ave: DR. HYLTON L .JAMES BOULEVARD.
Berean Baptist Church
1635-49 Dr. Hylton L. James Boulevard (Bergen Street) Brooklyn, New York 11213
Office: (718) 774-0466 Info Line: (718) 774-1100 Fax: (718) 467-3917
email: info@bereanbaptist.org
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Dr. Schuyler Thomas Eldridge - Our Sixteenth Pastor
The Congregation was reorganized into twelve wards led by the Deacons or appointed members.
A $20,000. brick parsonage was built adjoining the church (which is presently used as our community and family life center).
Berean became a "support station" during the depression and served meals and gave out clothing throughout the community during this time. Pastor Eldridge met the financial obligation for this effort to keep Berean on target with her own financial responsibilities.
The Sunday School was reorganized.
Numerous auxiliaries were organized under Pastor Eldridge tenure and still exist today.
A newsletter was implemented called the "Berean Searchlight."
An Adult Education Class in English, Citizenship Class and Social Case worker provided.
500 to 600 new members was added yearly during Pastor Eldridge's tenure.
The Release Time Program, Daily Vacation Bible School (summer) & Baptist Young People's Union was organized.
The mortgage was met at the cost of $17,000. on Sunday, October 28, 1945.
Pastor Eldridge was called from labor to reward on September 14, 1946.
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Dr. Leonard Joseph Brown - Our Fourteenth Pastor
Led the congregation in the construction (by a Negro congregation in New York City) of an Edifice from the foundation in 1894.
Church still stands and is used today for multi-purpose use by the church.
Mount Lebanon Baptist Church was organized and recognized as a "Mission" church.
Two wings were added to existing church in 1914.
In 1914 Pastor Brown was called from labor to reward while serving Berean.
Berean built in 1894 - first edifice built from the foundation by a Negro (African American) Congregation. This building minus the left wing still stands today and is used for multi - purpose activities by the Berean congregation & community.
Berean Members of the Week
