By: Marie C. McCoy
As told to Cynthia Green


The following is a brief history of Gregory’s Chapel Assembly of God Church as I remember. These few lines by no means convey all that transpired over the last sixty years. At first, Pentecost was not widely accepted in our community, but over the years people have come to realize that God has blessed us and that we love God.
In the year 1932, an Assembly of God preacher from Texas, Bro. A.W. Loasier and his friend, Elmer Brasfield, came to the Windy City area to hold a revival in a small wood lot near where the church is located today. Bro. Loasier and his friend fashioned seats from cuts of wood and rough planks. Bottles of coal oil and string were hung for lighting, and a few planks were set on blocks to make a platform from which to preach. The only music we had was guitar music—which Bro. Loasier and Mr. Brasfield both could play. This was our first encounter with Pentecost.
People came from every direction to this brush arbor revival. They came in wagons, walking, and a few in cars and trucks. Family after family began to attend as God began to touch hearts and change lives. The countryside was stirred for God, and the revival lasted for several weeks. Some of the families I can remember are: the McCoys, the Longmires (both sets), the Cashes, the Gregorys, Henry Brown’s family, the Carrols, the Hinsons, the Lasters, several Carter families, the Winters, the Todds, and the Campbells. There are others I cannot recall. As a result of this great revival, my mother Hattie Campbell and my eldest sister, Fannie Campbell Gregory, became Christians. In the years to come, the rest of her family came to God, and four generations of Campbells are still here in the church.
When the revival was over, Mr. Will Gregory and his wife, Mrs. Day Gregory, allowed the people to hold services in their front yard under the cedar trees. From miles around people came to the services. My family walked to church because we only lived a mile from the Gregorys.
As the weather began to grow colder, services were move indoors. The Gregory’s home was very large and had a huge entrance hall with French doors that could be opened to allow space for Sunday School and church. The Gregory girls all helped out with the services by singing and playing the guitar.
In the spring of 1933, we began to talk of building. Mr. Gregory gave an acre of land for the site of the new church. He had a farm at Young’s Crossing with timber on it. He, his sons, and the men of the church helped to cut and haul logs to erect the tabernacle. Times were very hard because we were just coming out of the Depression, and there was very little money. The menfolk went throughout the community collecting donations of chickens, eggs, or whatever could be sold for a profit. The money was used to put a roof on the tabernacle which resembled a huge barn with posts inside for support and a sawdust floor. A pot-bellied stove was used to heat the tabernacle, and gas lanterns were used for light. The light bill was paid by means of having a Penny March each month. The offering plates were placed on the altars, and people would march by and place all their pennies in the plates. Mr. Gregory and his son Homer did a lot of carpentry work; they built seats from rough planks and a pulpit. We acquired an organ also that Mr. Brasfield and Mrs. Wilkerson could play very well.
Finally the building was finished, and the church was set in order. The charter members, as far as I remember, were: Mrs. Gregory, Ann, Lucy, and Katherine Gregory, Fannie Gregory, Hattie Campbell, Birdie Brown, Hattie Lou Campbell, Queenie Cash, and Mrs. Ann Todd. Bro Loasier was our pastor for some years. There was a house full of folk, and we had good singing and preaching as we still do.
Mr. and Mrs. J. E. McCoy lived about five or six miles from the church, so they would load their truck with family and neighbors and come to church. Delphia McCoy Pickens was their daughter and a great church worker as well as Mrs. McCoy who almost preached a sermon every time she testified.
Families continued to be added to the church through summer revivals and brush arbor meetings. Sometimes when we held services in the tabernacle the sawdust would get very dusty as people would begin to dance in the Spirit. We held two brush arbor meetings; one was held down the road from the Inman family. Garthal and Rudolph Inman would sing specials, as did others. Another meeting was held on West Ashport Road in the Harris Smith’s woods.
About this time we were able to put a concrete floor in the tabernacle and had made better seats and had varnished them. That summer we had the first three-day convention. It was estimated that over a thousand people attended.
In those first ten years several preachers came through and preached for us between pastors. Brother Parks brought a small trailer and lived in it for several weeks. When he had to move on, he left the trailer behind for other traveling preachers. Bro. Burkheart and Bro. McGowen came and stayed one summer. Many times these preachers would stay in the homes of the church members.
When Bro. Loasier left, Bro. Spain from Milan served as our pastor. It was a thankless job. As I recall, he said he preached one weekend and received one dime. Bro. Spain was followed by Bro. Mitchell from Jackson. Next came Bro. Welch, who stayed from 1938 to 1939. Bro. Atkinson filled in for a short time also. The church had been established for about eight years at that time.
During these years several young men went into the ministry—Howard Campbell, V.V. McCoy, Ernest Math’s, AL Todd, Homer Gregory and later, ET McCoy.Ernest Mathis, A. L. Todd, Homer Gregory, and E. T. McCoy have all gone on to meet their reward.
In 1939, I married Owen McCoy and moved away. My mother-in-law, Docia McCoy passed away and her oldest daughter in 1940. Both Mrs. McCoy and Delphi were great workers in the church, and their deaths hit the church very hard. The congregation began to dwindle. Mr. McCoy did not attend regularly, and therefore the people he had brought in his truck had no means of attending. Also, World War II broke out, and many families worked seven days a week at Milan Arsenal. Attendance dropped drastically, and the church nearly folded. We had no pastor during this time either. One Sunday morning, my mom, Hattie Campell, and Mrs. Ann Todd were the only ones at Sunday school. They had the lesson, took the offering, and went home.
The war took three of the McCoy boys off to fight—Owen, Doyle, and E.T. Other members’ children were called to war as well. During this time the church was blessed to have a young couple come to be our pastors, Melvin and Genevive Hubbard. The church prospered during their term. Bro. Hubbard was a very humble person; Sister Hubbard had been forsaken by her family for converting to Pentecost. ( She was raised Catholic.) Her aunt took her in and raised her. Sis. Hubbard is still living, and Bro. Hubbard has gone on to his reward.
About this time, Annie Lou had gotten saved and joined the church. Her and her husband Jesse had a B Model car with a rumble seat. They began to come to church regularly and always brought a carload of folk.
After the Hubbards left us, we were once again without leadership. Bro. Roscoe and wife came from Jackson and pastored through the winter and into the summer. They later became missionaries to Samoa.
In the late forties, three lady preachers came to be our pastors, Louella and Ethel Masterson, and Dorothy. There was no place for them to live, and the church at that time could not afford to build a parsonage. Again, Mr. Gregory and his sons used their carpentry skills to build two rooms in the back of the tabernacle and the ladies moved in.
In 1949 Reba Roberts came and held a great revival. The house was packed every night, and many were established in the Lord at this time by a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I was one of those who got saved and joined the church at thirty two years of age. My husband Owen got saved as well.
Unfortunately, the lady pastors moved back to St. Louis and once more we were in need of a pastor. At this time, Sis. Roberts felt called of God from Oklahoma with her husband Dick and their two children, Alta and John. The tabernacle had begun to decay over this period of time. The roof leaked, and it was evident that a new building was needed. Sis. Roberts and her family moved into the Old Bethel School on Scarbrough Loop. Bro. Roberts was a fine carpenter. He and the men of the church begin to raze the tabernacle saving suitable lumber as they went in order to build a parsonage. This parsonage was built first because Sis. Roberts needed a place to live and raise her family.
Once again the church rallied to finance the new building. A pig was donated for a BBQ, and Mr. Gregory graciously opened his home for this event. One hundred dollars was made, and work on the building began. Men and women alike worked; we sold flavoring, cards, and clothing. Mrs. Hattie Campbell, my mom, was a fine seamstress who offered her talents to make sport shirts, pillowcases, aprons, and other items like sewing kits which were then sold. Sis. Roberts and my sister Fannie would go to Grand Leaders, a store in downtown Jackson, and buy one hundred yards of material at a time for Mother to work with. The ladies of the church met twice a week and quilted quilts to sell for $7.50 each.
Thus, the Women’s Ministries came to be in order under Sister Roberts ministry. Mrs. Jimmie Fletcher was our first president. Fannie Gregory was secretary and held that position for twenty six years. We ladies helped to stain the woodwork and fill nail head holes. We also painted up as far as we could reach on the building.
Revivals continued to be held during the summer months. The church was growing by leaps and bounds. One Sunday we had 253 in attendance. Alta Roberts played piano and accordion. Jesse Todd played guitar, and our song services were something else. Those church rafters shook sometimes. Luther Hinson and Wallace Scarbrough sang together, and they were a great blessing to us all.
Alta Roberts and Irving (Buddy) Butler were the first couple to be married in the new church. The Roberts remained with us for about four years—until Sis. Roberts became very ill and decided to move on until she regained her health. At this point, Sis. Elizabeth Walters was elected pastor. Bro. Billy, Sis. Elizabeth, and their son J. B. stayed for three years. Sis. Walters resigned for health reasons also. During her stay, a church kitchen was built (a separate building from the church.)
My brother-in-law, V.V. McCoy served as pastor for three years during which time he built the Sunday School rooms that also served as the C.A. (Christ’s Ambassadors) hall. The C.A.’s were the young folks of the church ages 12-25. Vilbert’s wife’s name is Gladys. They have four children, Robbie, Alvin, Billy, and Ruth. During this time, Robbie met and married John Todd, Jesse’s son. They are still leaders in our church today. V.V. and his family moved, and Sis. Walters was called back to be our pastor for ten more years. After their second term, the Walters resigned, and A. L. Land was elected as pastor in 1971. He and his wife, Lilly, remained here for nine years. While they were the parsonage garage was converted into a study for Bro. Land. The lighting system in our church was changed to what it is today, and new Sunday School rooms were added and connected to the kitchen to make it part of the church. The church has averaged 80-100 in attendance since that time.It seems that each pastor we have had has contributed something to the improvement of the church.
During these years, my children grew up, married, and had children. They are still attending Gregory’s Chapel today. The Lands moved to Henning, Tennessee to take care of Sis. Land’s parents. Bro. Robert Gross and his family came to pastor the church. He and his family were the first to live in the new parsonage that was built on the land that the church bought. The land is also a great place for outings, picnics and Homecoming. We also have a softball field.
By now many, many of the first to belong to the church are now gone, but their children, grandchildren, and great grand children are still part of Gregory’s Chapel. We also have many new families that have been faithful and are a great blessing.
We now have an A-one missions program, and all the departments of the church are missions oriented. We have special programs for our young children; the girls attend Missionettes, the boys, Royal Rangers. The church has also supported the young teens of the church who wanted to go on AIM, ( Ambassadors in Missions) trips to foreign countries. We are noted throughout the Assemblies of God and the state for having a valuable Women’s Ministries department and for our children’s’ department.
When Bro. Gross resigned, Bro. Ron Lawson was elected pastor. He and his wife Karen, and their three children, Greg, Jennifer, and Julie were a blessing to our church. Sis. Karen taught Sunday School and led choir. Their term lasted three years.
They were followed by Bro. W. W. Bryant from Texas. He and his wife Helen are an older couple. Sis. Bryant ministered to the sick and was a great comfort to them in their time of need. Their term lasted one year. Bro. Bryant was gifted musically and played and sang as well as preached the Word.
After the Bryants came Bro. Michael Norberg and Sis. Charlotte. They have a daughter, Stephanie. Both Bro. Mike and Sis. Charlotte are ordained ministers, and both have graced our pulpit. Under their ministry we have undergone several improvements to the church building, new siding, roof, carpet, etc. We enjoyed their music ministry also. The church also undertook a fresh building project, the construction of a new Activity Center complete with new kitchen and restroom facilities. It was constructed on the south end of the property between the church and the parsonage, but not connected to the church at this time.
In 1998, after nine eventful and successful years, the Norbergs returned to Arkansas, and the church was back to seeking the Lord for a pastor. Bro. Joel Pledge pastored the church in the interim until another young couple from Arkansas came, Bro. Darrell and Kathy Frost. They have two children, Josh an Lindsey.
Under Bro. Frost’s ministry a new Sunday School addition was added to the church in order to provide more classrooms, a new nursery, and to connect the church to the new Activity Center. Our missions program was expanded to include several new missionaries, including interpreters for our Mexico MAPs teams who continued a twice-yearly campaign to save lost souls in poor cities south of the border. Bro. Darrell accompanied our teams on several of these trips. In the three years of Bro. Darrell’s term, several new members and souls were added to the Kingdom.
In September of 2002, Bro. Darrell and Sis. Kathy felt the call to return to Arkansas to pastor. The church called Bro. Joel again to serve as interim pastor. Shortly before Christmas that year, the church met and decided to vote Bro. Joel in as pastor if he would accept. Bro. Joel had spent several years as a missionary under Bro. B. H. Clendenin in Russia and China teaching the School of Christ Curriculum. However, as the Lord would have it, the Pledge’s accepted the church and began earnestly working for the kingdom of God.
We have begun to see new faces again that the Lord promised through prophecy years ago. Sis. Roberts now resides in Humboldt and is still a great part of this church and its heritage. We are proud to have her and her teachings remain with us.
Since its humble beginnings seventy years ago, Gregory’s Chapel has undergone many trials, but blessings even more have been bestowed upon us. Time after time God has enable us to keep the faith and remain a lighthouse to the Windy City community. We have found that we have even reached out to other communities, as we have members from Jackson, Trenton, and Humboldt. We are thankful for the rich heritage we have and are amazed at all God has done for us and through us through the years.
The last ten years we have seen several dear saints go Home to be with God, including the last of the charter members. Other dear members we have lost as well, including my daughter Nancy McCoy Robinson who taught the Adult Sunday School class for nearly 25 years. Several of these saints’ descendants remain to carry on the brightly-lit torch that they have passed. New babies are being born into the church. And it is a joy to see that the newer ones and younger ones have not failed in taking up the mantle that was passed to them. As time makes its mark, new traditions inevitably emerge, old ones fade. New faces grace the pews, as sadly, the older ones gradually slip away. But the ancient landmarks that God placed in the hearts and minds of His people so long ago will never be removed. When He laid the blue prints for Gregory’s Chapel Assembly of God, He put a vision out there for us to grasp; Thy will be done in us. Thy will be done.

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