BRIEF HISTORY OF SEQUOYAH COMMUNITY CHURCH

After the Azusa Street Revival in 1906 there were a number of Pentecostal missions in Oakland in various rented facilities.  Internationally known Pentecostal speakers came through Oakland, including Smith Wigglesworth, who held a series of tent meetings in Oakland in the early 1920s.  One of the mission churches in 1927 invited a well known Pentecostal leader, Dr. J. Narver Gortner, to come and lead the group, but Brother Gortner told the group that he did not want to pastor a “missions church” and said he would come if the church incorporated as an Assemblies of God church.  The Assemblies of God denomination/movement had been established in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas and one of the first churches incorporated in the Bay Area was Glad Tidings church in San Francisco in the late teens.  This is the oldest Assemblies of God church in the Bay Area and is currently pastured by our pastor’s brother, Forrest Beiser, Jr.

The church in Oakland was incorporated as Glad Tidings Revival Assembly in 1927 and Brother Gortner served as its first pastor until 1936.  The church was located at 31^st and Grove (now M. L. King) in North Oakland and hosted a large area wide youth convention in the late 20s.  The youth program of the Assemblies of God at that time was called Pentecostal Ambassadors.

The third pastor at Glad Tidings Revival Assembly was Harold (Hal) Lehmann, who pastured for five years when he and his wife, Naomi, were called to the mission field in Africa toward the end of World War II.  Brother Lehmann was supported as a missionary by the church from the beginning and always spoke at the church every four years while on furlough.  He and Naomi did Bible translation work as well as establishing churches in west Africa.  After they retired the Lehmanns were regular speakers for missions conventions and family camps for the church and brother Lehman was a powerful preacher.

While E. Ellsworth Krogstat was pastor (1947 to 1951) the church relocated to 10^th Ave. and E. 14^th (now International Blvd.) in East Oakland in 1948 and the name was changed to First Church Assemblies of God.  Our 8^th pastor, Paul Schoch, had the longest tenure as pastor to date, 15 years, from 1959 to 1974.  Pastor Schoch served during the outbreak of the charismatic movement in non-pentecostal churches and had a number of spirit filled ministers come to First Church and speak, sponsoring for several years an annual Celebration of the Holy Spirit.  One of our regular visiting ministers during this time and after was David DuPlessis, originally from South Africa, who was used of God to open dialogue with Roman Catholic charismatics in particular, and was instrumental in helping to change the attitudes of many Pentecostals that a Roman Catholic could not be saved and remain in the Catholic church.  During Pastor Schoch’s pastorate the church also provided space for a Chinese Assembly that grew out of Sister Lulu Baird’s evangelistic work among Chinese Americans.  That assembly eventually moved to a location in San Leandro and has since been integrated into other A of G churches, with Pastor John Ong serving as the last senior pastor of that work before his retirement.  A number of families reached through that ministry are currently active at SCC.  Pastor Schoch also pioneered work in Christian television and with the church leadership sponsored a satellite church in Berkeley during his tenure.  Pastor Schoch was well known for his elaborate displays and promotion of missions during the annual Missions Convention at the church.  We have continued to be blessed by Pastor Schoch’s ministry since he left SCC and his son, Herb, served for many years on the SCC Church Council.

While our 10^th pastor, David Rees-Thomas was with us, 1977 to 1979, a decision was made by First Church to sell the property on E. 14^th and build a new church on property purchased on Keller Avenue.  After doing considerable research the decision was also made, when the church left E. 14^th, to change the church name to Sequoyah Community Church, Assemblies of God, since the church would be in the Sequoyah neighborhood in the East Oakland Hills.  (Thus the name is spelled like the Indian, not the tree.)  It took several years to build the new church and under the leadership of our 11^th pastor, Harold Botts.  SCC moved into the Keller Avenue property in 1982.  During Pastor Botts’ ministry three youth missions teams went out from the church for summer missionary work, first to Belize in Central America, and then for two summers in a row to Fiji, where a missions team will be returning this summer.

Our 12^th pastor, John Butrin, held our second longest pastorate, 13 years, before he was called with his wife Gayle, to the mission field in Berlin, Germany, where he is currently pasturing an international church.

Our current pastor, David Beiser, was elected to the pastorate in October of 2005 and we are excited to see what God is doing at SCC under his leadership.  As we approach our 80^th Anniversary, we are believing for growth in ministry in many areas and are waiting on the Lord for his empowering and guidance as we go forward in the work here in Oakland.

PASTORS AT SEQUOYAH COMMUNITY CHURCH SINCE INCORPORATION IN 1927

Church incorporated as Gad Tidings Revival Assembly, located at 31^st and Grove (now M. L. King) in North Oakland – 1927

1)  J. Narver Gortner   1927 to 1936  9 yrs.

2)  C. Stanley Cooke   1936 to 1939  3 yrs.

3)  Harold (Hal) Lehmann   1939 to 1944  5 yrs.

4)  C. F. Ferguson    1944 to 1946 (Oct.) 2 yrs.

5)  E. Ellsworth Krogstat   1947(Feb) to 1951(June) 4 yrs.

Church moved to 10^th Ave. & E. 14^th (now International Blvd.) in 1948

Named changed to First Church, Assemblies of God

6)  Francis Sturgeon   1951(Nov) to 1956(June) 5 yrs.

7)  Henry H. Ness    1956(Mar) to 1959(Mar)  3 yrs.

Morris Hammond-Interim  1959(Mar to June)  4 mos.

8)  Paul Schoch    1959(June) to 1974(Mar) 15 yrs.

Howard Rusthoi-Interim  1974(Mar) to 1975(July)  16 mos.

9)  Paul Brewer    1975(July) to 1976(Aug) 1 yr.

Harold Botts-Interim   1976(Aug) to 1977(Jun) 10 mos.

10) David Rees-Thomas   1977(Jun) to 1979(Jun) 2 yrs.

Name of church changed to Sequoyah Community Church, Assemblies of God, property purchased on Keller Ave.

11) Harold Botts    1979(Jul) to 1988(Jun) 9 yrs.

Church moved to 4292 Keller Avenue, October 1982

12) John Butrin    1988(Sep) to 2001(Mar) 13 yrs.

Tom Witt-Interim   2001(May to Sept)  5 mos.

13) Rick Ryan    2001(Sept) to 2004(Oct) 3 yrs.

Garland Covington-Interim  2005(Aug to Nov)  4 mos.

14) David Beiser    2005(Dec)