Bethel Gospel Assembly fills an entire square block between Fifth and Madison Avenues in central Harlem, just south of Mount Morris Park. From its main entrance on East 120th Street, the church runs three Sunday services in three languages, a Wednesday online worship gathering, a five-day-a-week prayer line that begins at sunrise, and a worldwide missions network that plants churches as far away as South Africa and Japan. Bishop Carlton T. Brown, the senior pastor, describes it as a "loving, learning, launching and liberating church," and its 1,200 members and more than forty auxiliaries make it one of the larger Pentecostal congregations in upper Manhattan.
Three Sunday Services in Three Languages
On Sunday the doors open early at 2-26 East 120th Street. Living Water Christian Center, a bilingual French and English congregation made up primarily of francophone West Africans, meets first at 9:00 AM. Worshipers enter from 120th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues. Bethesda Spanish Church follows at 9:30 AM in the Praise Chapel, also entering from 120th Street. Bethel Gospel Assembly's English-language service begins at 10:15 AM in the Destiny Worship Pavilion, with the main entrance on 119th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The English service is broadcast live on YouTube (BethelGa Video) and on Facebook for those who want to join from home. The Spanish and French services meet in person.
Bishop Carlton T. Brown and the Story of the Chair
Bishop Carlton Theophilus Brown became Senior Pastor of Bethel in February 2000 and was consecrated to the office of bishop in February 2008. He entered full-time ministry in 1987 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Herbert Lehman College, a Master of Professional Studies, and a Doctor of Ministry from Alliance Theological Seminary, which awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2016.
He is the author of "Till Death Do We S.H.O.P.," a practical ministry manual on service and presentation. As a visionary pastor he founded six churches in the Transkei region of South Africa, launched Bethel Gospel Global Assemblies under which seven churches have been planted in the United States, and helped dedicate the 364-acre Harmony Estates Project in South Africa, which houses a church, a Christian boarding school, a youth resource center, and a skills training program. He and Lorna, his wife and fellow pastor, reside in New York City. They have two adult children, Justin and Carla.
The Destiny Worship Pavilion
What is now called the Destiny Worship Pavilion was once a parking lot behind the original sanctuary. In 1999 Bishop Brown, then an associate pastor, looked out over the under-used lot and felt the prompt to build there. Ground was broken in 2006 alongside his predecessor, Bishop Ezra N. Williams, his wife Pastor Lorna Brown, and the church staff. The development that grew up around the sanctuary eventually included a 47-unit rental property known as "The Pavilion Off The Park," a 206-unit condominium called "Fifth On The Park," a commercial parking garage, and the new worship pavilion. The congregation marched into the finished sanctuary on Saturday, November 10, 2017.
The pavilion, addressed at 1483 Fifth Avenue at 119th Street, is the seat of the English-language service, the Wednesday Warfare service, and the church's broadcast ministry.
Sunday School by Zoom and by Room
Bethel's Sunday School meets every Sunday at 9:00 AM, both online and on site. Classes are divided by age and led by teachers who have served the church for years. The Adult Class, taught by Pastor Bobby Soverall and Sis. Doralynn Bonds, meets online and in Room 243. The Sr Teen Class, led by Deacon Darilee Brown, meets online and in Room 257. The Pre & Jr Teen Class, led by Pastor James Washington, meets online and in Room 250. The Under Ten Class, taught by Sis. Gemelli Briceno and Sis. Andrea Allen, meets online and in Room 252. The Primary Class, taught by Sis. Shanda Miles-Harvey, Sis. Shonte Carter, and Pastor Lorna Brown and Sis. Yvonne Williams, meets in Rooms 252 and 254. Questions about Sunday School can be sent to carlabrown@bethelga.org.
Warfare Wednesdays and the Prayer Line Ministry
Wednesday evenings are given over to the Warfare Wednesday Service at 7:00 PM, broadcast on YouTube and Facebook. The service is part of Bethel's charismatic, gospel-rooted style and is paired with a roster of smaller prayer gatherings that run throughout the week.
The Warrior Wake Up Prayer Call rings every weekday at 6:00 AM. Anyone can dial in at 717-908-1834 with passcode 616312. Women of Warfare meets on the first Sunday of each month at 8:00 PM by Zoom. Sons of Issachar, the men's ministry, gathers on Sundays at 8:00 PM on Zoom. Kingdom Minded Educators hosts a bi-weekly Sunday prayer call at 3:00 PM (1-720-843-2981, access code 6229573). The Married Couples Prayer Call meets Tuesdays at 8:00 PM (1-267-807-9601, access code 440834357). The Seniors Prayer Call meets Thursdays at noon (1-717-908-1834, access code 616312). Intercessors also receive prayer requests at intercessors@bethelga.org.
The Bountiful Blessings Hall
Inside the same Harlem campus, the Bountiful Blessings Banquet Hall hosts weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, and corporate gatherings of up to five hundred guests. The hall features marble floors, chandeliers, fireplaces, and a state-of-the-art kitchen. It is divided into four rooms: Golden Memories for 150 guests, Silver Linings for 100, Charity Chapel for 75, and Peace Be Still Cafe for 75. The hall is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Banquet Hall Manager Charmin Deloatch and Assistant Manager Carla Brown coordinate reservations.
From Harlem to South Africa, Romania, and Japan
Bethel describes itself as "committed to reaching the world, making disciples locally and globally through the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Its international footprint grew out of missionary work that began in 1937, when Bethel missionary Venus Williams planted three churches on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent - churches still active today in North Union, Owia, and Georgetown and now tended by Bishop Charles, Pastor Calvert Williams, and the local congregations.
Current missions touch more than a dozen countries. Bethel supports missionaries Kelly and Ursula Daniel and their three children as they serve in Albania. In South Africa, Dr. Ruth Onukwue serves as Executive Director of Bethel Gospel Assemblies Ministries Trust, overseeing Harmony Christian School, a chicken farm, and five area churches. The 364-acre Harmony Estates Project includes a boarding school and youth programs. In Romania, Bishop John and Emilia Ceuta oversee 150 churches, the Romania Kids social day-care project serving one hundred students, and the Grace Feeding Center that serves 250 people. In Japan, Pastor Kyoko Uchiki leads Japanese Gospel Assembly, which combines an online ministry to less than two percent believers with periodic in-person services. Bethel also supports work in Aruba, Cameroon (with adopted unreached Baka people), India (with Alpha International Ministries and the Ogharaerumi Bible translation team), Israel (with Jews for Jesus and Chosen People Ministries), Jamaica (with Union Gardens Christian Academy preschool), Liberia, Nigeria, St. Maarten, and Zambia (with Pentecostal Assemblies of God churches).
The United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God, founded in 1918 out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the historic denominational network Bethel joined in 1929. Bishop Ezra N. Williams, Brown's predecessor, served as the council's president from 1969 to 1981.
A Network of Global Assemblies
Bethel Gospel Global Assemblies (BGGAI) is the umbrella under which Bethel in Harlem and twelve affiliated churches operate. The executive board is chaired by Bishop Dr. Carlton T. Brown as Presiding Prelate, with Reverend Alex B. Lakoju as Vice Chairman, Reverend Arthur M. Shadwick as Chief Operations Officer, and Reverend Duwain A. Robinson as Chief Financial Officer. Daughter and affiliate churches include:
- Bethesda Spanish Church - Praise Chapel, 2-26 East 120th Street, New York, NY 10035, Pastor Rev. Jose Reyes
- Living Waters Christian Center - 2-26 East 120th Street, New York, NY 10035, Pastor Rev. Daouda Zongo, Executive Pastor Rev. Mimsie Robinson
- Japanese Gospel Assembly - 2-26 East 120th Street, New York, NY 10035, Pastor Kyoko Uchiki
- Mission For Christ Holiness Temple (Saturdays in Praise Chapel), 2-26 East 120th Street, New York, NY 10035, Pastor Rev. Deborah Smith
- Greater Calvary Gospel Assembly - Albert Einstein JHS 131 Auditorium, 885 Bolton Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475, Pastor Rev. Juan L. Davis
- Triumphant Life Church - 3048 Holland Avenue, Bronx, NY 10467, Apostle Isidore Agoha
- Voice of Freedom International Ministries - 409 Maple Street, Brooklyn, NY 11225, Apostle Mark Excel
- The Rock Foundation Ministry - 100 Park Avenue, Paterson, NJ 07501, Pastor Rev. Alex Lakoju
- The Grace Place - 156 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601, Pastor Rev. Arthur M. Shadwick
- The Summit Church - 720 Summit Avenue, Hackensack, NJ 07601, Pastor Duwain Robinson
- Faith Christian Assembly of God - 20 Wayne Avenue, West Haverstraw, NY 10993, Pastor Rev. Anthony Allen
- Abundant Grace Gospel Assembly - 890 Rock Quarry Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281, Pastor Rev. Freeborn Ukpede
Beth-Hark Christian Counseling Center and Outreach
Beth-Hark Christian Counseling Center is the social-service arm of Bethel, addressing food insufficiency through a food pantry and hot-meal program and offering mental-health counseling to the Harlem community. Executive Director Michelle P. Robinson leads a staff supported by a regular rotation of volunteers. Other ongoing outreach efforts include Saturday Invasion, Kingdom-Minded Health & Human Service Professionals, New Horizon Juvenile Detention, Hope HIV Residential Center, International Guest Outreach, the Wednesday Visitors' Service, Operation Spiritual Thunder, and partnership with Global Gates to reach immigrant communities from unreached people groups across New York City.
Getting to Bethel
The complex covers one full city block between 119th and 120th Streets, Madison and Fifth Avenues. The 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 trains all stop at 125th Street; from there it is a short walk downtown to Madison Avenue and 120th Street. Bus #1 stops at 120th and Fifth Avenue or 121st and Madison; bus #7 stops at 119th and Lenox. Drivers from the Henry Hudson Parkway, Harlem River Drive, the Triboro Bridge, the Major Deegan, or the George Washington Bridge can all reach the church by aiming for 120th Street and Fifth Avenue. Parking is available on the 120th Street side of the church as well as on Fifth and Madison Avenues. Visitors are reminded to watch for alternate-side parking signs.
Worshipers are asked to arrive twenty to thirty minutes early for the in-person services. Giving to the General Fund or to Global Missions is available online through Givelify. Newcomers and those wanting to get involved can register through the BGA Connection Portal at bethelga.org/connection-portal.