Flowood, MS
After graduating from Pentecostal Bible Institute (P.B.I.) in 1975, John William (Bill) Chatham attended First Pentecostal Church in Jackson pastored by Reverend T.L. Craft. During his tenure there, he taught Sunday school, worked bus ministry, visited hospitals, nursing homes, participated in jail/prison ministry, taught home Bible studies, worked as Outreach Director, taught new convert classes and outreach seminars.
In 1992, the F.P.C made plans to open a daughter-work in Flowood, Mississippi. However, that same year a tornado destroyed the U.P.C. in Brandon, pastored by Reverend Lloyd Adcock. The F.P.C. of Jackson allowed the U.P.C. of Brandon to use the F.P.C. North church. This delay lasted for about eighteen months while the church in Brandon rebuilt.
In January of 1994, the Chatham’s moved into the Flowood building to start a church. During his tenure at First Pentecostal Church North, Brother Chatham became a volunteer prison chaplain for the Central Mississippi Corrections Facility in Flowood and Pearl. During the time he was there, over one hundred ladies received the Holy Spirit and baptized in the name of Jesus at the facility in Flowood. Conversions happened because of teaching the A.C.T.S. alcohol and drug program along with regular church services. He was a volunteer chaplain with River Oaks hospital in Flowood for ten years. Later, Brother Chatham served for twelve years as a hospice chaplain in a sevencounty area. He worked at the V.A. Medical Center in Jackson, MS as a resident chaplain for one year, specializing in Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.). Previously he became the Central Mississippi coordinator for the District Prayer Ministry and is currently the District Administrator, at this writing, for Purpose Institute, an endorsed ministry of the U.P.C.I.
In February of 2020, floodwaters from the Pearl River inundated the F.P.C. North Church.
Many volunteer workers completed the church’s inside remodeling in June 2020. The list is many who could be named that have helped in Brother Chatham’s ministry through the years. Suffice to say that the body of Christ is what holds the worldwide church together, which makes the United Pentecostal Church International what it is today.