IRVINGTON, NJ — As her husband was being memorialized with the grand opening of the Rev. Ronald B. Christian Sports Complex in Weequahic Park in Newark on Wednesday, July 20, his widow, Tami Christian, was finally finding a home for her New Beginnings Ministry Church.
Christian and some of her fellow junior ministers at Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington had decided to branch off from that institution, following the unexpected death of her husband late last year. Although they had first used the Irvington Housing Authority — which had served as a “satellite” Christian Love Baptist Church during Rev. Ron’s tenure — to house their fledgling ministry, services were later stopped at the public housing facility.
In May, former Orange Zoning Board member and 2016 mayoral candidate Janice Morrell and her campaign manager, Shane Adams, offered Christian their headquarters on Main Street for weekly services. Christian called this a godsend, and that location was a respite until she found a more permanent location in Elizabeth.
“There is more than enough love to go around; God is love, so there’s more than enough,” said Christian on Wednesday, July 20, at the grand opening of the sports complex in Weequahic Park that bears her husband’s name. “We are now currently stationed in Elizabeth at 455 North Broad St. God is good.”
And now, Christian said, it’s time to get to work.
“Our services at New Beginnings Ministry are every Sunday at 11 a.m. and Bible study is Thursdays at 6:30 p.m,” said Christian. “God is love, so there’s more than enough love and there’s more than enough work to do.”
Adams said he’s glad he and Morrell were able to help the fledgling ministry when it was in need of a home and it’s great to see it has found its footing to continue Rev. Ron’s legacy.
“Given all that Rev. Ron did for our communities as a man of faith, it has been my honor to assist Tami Christian,” said Adams on Monday, July 25. “I am happy to have been able to provide the bridge that carried her while God opened the door for her new location.
“The Apostle Paul … said, ‘There is one body, but many members,’” said the Rev. Alfreddy Fletcher, the current minister at Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, on Wednesday, July 20. “So if (Christian’s) wife has started a ministry and other ministers have joined that ministry or joined ministries elsewhere, I still think that’s a wonderful thing, because his wife is an anointed and appointed preacher of the gospel.
“Tami Christian is a pastor who can teach, can preach, she loves people. … So if there’s another ministry somewhere that’s edifying the body of Christ, that’s great.”
New Beginnings Ministry finds permanent home in Elizabeth added by Chris Sykes on
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