Columbus, MS
In August 1952, Reverend J.W. Smith and Sister Helen Erickson Smith, his wife, founded the United Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Mississippi. The Smith family began services in their home. They then moved services under a tent beside a service station on Waterworks Road. It was there that the Cordie Boone family became the first members of the church in Columbus. The church moved to a pecan grove on Star Route (Old Hwy 12) in front of Doug and Audrey Cain’s home. The Cain family began to attend and serve the Lord faithfully from that time forth. A storm came and blew the tent down in the pecan grove, so the church moved to City Hall, various houses, including the Wingo family’s home, and a little wooden house with no sheetrock.
The Smiths and the church family built a cement block building on Star Route (Old Hwy 12) to house the church. It had a gravel floor in the classroom and a sloped concrete and dirt floor in the auditorium. Only the front of the auditorium and the middle aisle were concrete. Also, the auditorium’s interior sides held water when it rained and grew wild onions in the summertime. The church sold the concrete building and built a new brick church at 1704 Bell Avenue. After completing the Bell Avenue church, they added the benches in August of 1963.
The Lord’s work prospered under Reverend Smith’s ministry, and many souls were won to the Lord at Bell Avenue. On March 27, 1968, Reverend J.W. Smith resigned as pastor of the Columbus church to move to Sumter, South Carolina.
Reverend Vandy S. Pope became the pastor in Columbus on March 27, 1968, and he served until January 13, 1969.
On January 30, 1969, District Superintendent J.E. Anderson and Section 2 Presbyter Billy Bowen affiliated the church with UPC.
On February 7, 1969, Reverend Jerry Lambert became the pastor, and he served until August 1969.
On September 21, 1969, Reverend W.M. Dunnam became the pastor. Following him, Reverend Gerald Davis served as pastor from January 28, 1971, through September 24, 1972.
Reverend Ed Faglier became the pastor on October 14, 1972, and he served until February 20, 1977.
Reverend Roy Lawrence became the pastor on April 30, 1977. In September 1977, the church voted to change the name to Calvary Evangelism Center, bought land, and built a new church at 311 Tuscaloosa Road. On December 31, 1987, Reverend Lawrence resigned, and Reverend Lee J. Edwards became the pastor. Reverend Lee J. Edwards faithfully served as pastor until he died unexpectedly on December 31, 1988.
On January 14, 1989, Reverend David Edwards became the pastor, and he served until August 1991.
Reverend Gary Heard became the pastor in August 1991, and he served until September 1994. In 1993 they started dba First Pentecostal Church.
Reverend Noel Coker became pastor in October 1994, and he served until December 1995. Reverend Stephen Blaylock became pastor in January 1996, and he is currently faithfully serving as the pastor.
February 23, 2019, at 5:23 pm, an EF 3 tornado destroyed that building, but not the church!
“I saw metal, steel twisted and torn apart, stone and mortar cave in from the pressures of the wind, plywood and stud walls ripped out. But what has captured my heart is when I saw a church family gather that horrific night and cry together but start working toward recovery. This past year we have had a church service here on these grounds a couple of times and Canaan Baptist Church, but today we are getting ready to start a new chapter for FPC Columbus.”
We have a unique opportunity to set a new footprint for the Apostolic Church in Columbus! GREAT TIME TO BE AUTHENTIC- the book of Acts church! IN WORSHIP, PREACHING, TEACHING, WINNING THE LOST, IN BAPTISM, and our relationship with God! Today is a launching pad for the present and future generations of beautiful people who call Columbus and surrounding areas home!
Heaven can reveal the profound impact that this day will have in making a sanctuary for the hurting, lost, wandering, and the saved! In 2021, they completed building the new First Pentecostal Church in Columbus on the same location at 311 Tuscaloosa Rd.
They moved into the new church building in September 2021 and launched the new name—Authentic Church.