Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church was organized in November 1995 under the leadership of Pastor T.J. Lewis. On the fourth Sunday of January 1996, the first official service as (GSJ) was held at Frazier Community Center on Long Ave. in Covington Tennessee.

In March 1996, the body was formerly structured with the by-laws and constitution. The church applied for and received incorporation status by the State of Tennessee. And on April 18, 1996, the church engaged in a special service to officially recognize GSJ as a religious, non-profit organization according to the standards of the National Baptist Convention. The church carried out services at the Frazier Center for 3 years. Our journey carried us from Frazier Center to the Masonic Lodge on Spring Street, where we worshipped for 2 years.

On March 19, 2000, we had the ribbon cutting and grand opening service held in this sanctuary. The theme for the service was “We have come this far by faith”. The grand opening celebration continued Sunday through Thursday night.

Many said we would not make it. Many said we would fail. But what God says is the only report that counts. By the Grace of God, we have been established and operating under the name Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church for 30 years.

During this time the Lord blessed us to pay off the mortgage in the summer of 2016. We performed a mortgage burning service to give praise to God for blessing us to achieve this goal. During our 30-year journey, we lost many warriors who were faithful and steadfast along the way. They passed the torch for us to continue onward and never stop. We salute them as we continue the journey.

As years went on our beloved Pastor and Leader died in December 2016, and for 2 years, we were under the leadership of our associate minister Rev. Darryl Owens. During that time, we searched for a pastor and in December 2018, we selected Pastor Maurice Darby to continue the vision. On the first Sunday in January 2019 Pastor Maurice Darby preached his first sermon and first year’s church theme, “Let’s Roll”.

Under the leadership of Pastor Darby, we have built on the vison through creative and interactive measures to meet the ministry of the 21st century.

We have enhanced the beauty of God’s temple by enhancing the flooring in the lobby and fellowship hall, newly remodeled Kitchen, installed computer system, expand the financial and media room. We went from manual financial reports to computer church software. We added digital signage. We have a Google and Apple licensure for future expansion for social media and online. All under the leadership of our Pastor Maurice Darby.

We have our own GSJ App that everyone can download from the Apple play store and Google play store to keep up with what’s going on at the church.

We incorporated Zoom and YouTube during the Pandemic so our members would always hear preaching and teaching even if we could not physically come to the temple.

 Women to Women Ministry was established during the pandemic and led by Min. Pauletta Alston for women to talk about different concerns and issues via our Zoom platform.

Several new ministries were also developed and or reimagined under the new leadership to expand our overall church growth potential. They include:

Praise Dance Ministry led by Destiny Owens and Dominique Weathers

Media Ministry led by Anthony Williams and his team: John Owens Jr., Breon Mason, and Noah Norris.

Our Online Ministry consists of Tikita Winfrey, Ladonna Jones, Cassandra Pearson, and Brianna Dotson. It currently serves members in Michigan, Alabama, Texas and Wisconsin.

Upgraded our Youth and Children Ministry led by Joyce Washington

Health Ministry led by W.C. Robinson and Gina Grant

Security Ministry led by Thurman Boyce, Charles Grant,

Exercise Ministry led by Dominique Weathers