“Except the Lord build the house, the workman worketh in vain.” In 1964, God gave Apostle John E. Wilson a vision to establish a deliverance ministry. From that vision was birth St. John’s Full Gospel Deliverance Center, a ministry for the healing of minds, souls and bodies, through the anointing power of God. The ministry began in the Portland/Middletown area of Connecticut.
Services were held in the homes until, by faith, a building (A Union Hall), at 565 High Street in Middletown, CT was secured. From that point faith-filled journey formed a legacy.
It was during those first years that many would come and go, as they opened and shut the doors to their hearts, minds and churches. Many people came to find out what deliverance was all about and how it could affect their lives. Although uncertainty was true for many, there were a few; a very strong united few who kept the Lord’s light aglow.
With the help of God, Rev. Wilson made very stumbling block a stepping stone. He was paying bills from his own pocket, working at manual labor to sustain his own needs and the needs of the church. His great Faith and his constant slogan, “I Believe God”, kept him moving upward. The Lord let Pastor to the Hartford area where he held a series of successful crusades. The people began to come, and as they came, the proved faithful with mind to work. God blessed abundantly, the congregation grew, the membership increased, and the finances improved. Miracles, healings and prophecies came forth. A bus service between Middletown and Hartford was established for the convenience of the people. God led the Pastor to the city of Hartford and instructed him to make this city “home base”. In the year of 1966 the building at 687 Albany Avenue was purchased, affectionately called “little St. John”, during this period the ministry began to grow.
As the Work of God was put forth many successful crusades were held in Boston, Springfield, and Hartford. The choir, the Voices of Deliverance was formed. The Youth and Young Adult Convention was established convening each year in August. This was a time to feature ministry gifts from around the world. During the convention in August of 1967, Rev. Wilson was installed as Elder and General Overseer of our church. During that time our Sunday Night services were broadcasted as “The Hour of Deliverance” on radio station WINF.
In October 1968 our Day Care Center was established, and in February of 1969 it was ready for business, along with our record shop and bookstore. The ministry was on the increase and once again our edifice had become too small, instead of finally being settled, it was time to move again. Pastor kept proclaiming his slogan, “I Believe God”; he knew that if God said, “move”, he had a place prepared for the church to go. Once again services were held in a public building, we began holding services at Rawson School in the city. The bus service remained in operating transporting people from within the city to Middletown. As always, being faithful to God’s voice and the vision, God didn’t let his servant down. On December 13, 1969, Elder Wilson moved the ministry to a new edifice at 290 Cornwall Street; in Hartford the church was then called “Greater St. John’s Full Gospel Deliverance Temple”.
After moving, The Hour of Deliverance began broadcasting live on Sunday mornings on WKND. The basement of the church was utilized as the deliverance coffee shop. Showers of Blessing Magazine became a quarterly reality. A car was purchased to transport the mothers of the church. As this faith-filled journey began to move onward, the Lord began to bless even more, not only spiritually, but materially, in 1970 we purchased a camp in Barkhamsted and Elder Wilson received his Doctorate degree.
Out-door concerts with the choir were instituted at the Arsenal school; services were held in Keney Park, a service was held on Constitution Plaza and at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Hartford. Dr. Wilson and St. John has indeed been a landmark in this area.
The ministry grew in its community outreach providing Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to those in need. A Saturday morning free breakfast program was instituted. May 6, 1984, the burning of the mortgage was held for 290 Cornwall Street.
September 11, 1993 marked another move for the church. We relocated to our present edifice at 27 Brown Street, in Bloomfield, CT. This move provided much more space, several offices for church officials, two state of the art kitchens, a fellowship hall and dining hall facility, ample parking, larger lavatory facilities and much, much more. In every area of this new facility you can see the hand of God working
In May 2001, Dr. John E. Wilson, an anointed and appointed warrior of Jesus Christ, after 48 years of preaching the gospel we elevated to the Office of Apostle. God has highly favored Apostle Wilson as he has lived under the influence of principles continuing to show power of character in all that he does. Because of this, God has allowed him to minister to multitudes the word of knowledge words of wisdom and impart into the lives of all that hear him teach and preach the uncompromising Word of God. We are thankful to God for what he has done and for blessing us with such a profound visionary, because he is the epitome of a man of God.
As well as a location change, God gave Apostle Wilson a God-Idea to change the Youth and Young Adult Convention name to The New England Prophetic Conference. This inspiration was noted because God had great plans for this conference to incorporate more than just our members of the St. John’s body, but to branch out to the entire New England area. There were local churches that came on board as a help meet for our Apostle. We began advertising each year in the Charisma magazine, which is a Christian magazine that goes all over the world. Our conference information is now reaching people not only in the United States, but also in Africa, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, India, and other parts of the world. People are coming to be a part of the New England Prophetic Conference.
We have had many great preachers, teachers, and prophets come into bless us down through the years, and have come to establish lasting relationships. In April of 2002, the New England Prophetic Conference became international. The first International Conference was held in Trinidad, West Indies and has been going on each and every year with over 1200 delegates in attendance. To God Be the Glory!
We have continued to use the radio, television, and international on-line live stream venue that offered to further our outreach for 100 million souls for Christ. St. John’s is broadcasting on Public Access Television in various towns in Connecticut such as, Hartford, Windsor, New Haven, and Farmington; also in Springfield Massachusetts. We have had food and clothing pantries for all of 45 years and today we still work with Connecticut Foodshare and give away clothing every Tuesday here at the church.
Since 2003, we have established an accredited Christian Counseling Ministry under the guidance of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Various areas of counseling are offered by this ministry, including substance abuse counseling. In addition, the church maintains an active Prison Ministry in which it provides fellowship to those who are incarcerated.
Chief Apostle John E. Wilson oversees more than twenty covenant churches that are thankful for his apostolic leadership.
“This Deliverance Ministry rises in a critical hour to call attention to the world that there is a God… That man can rise to new heights, his soul can take wings, his mind can dream dreams, his body can stand tall and whole…He can enter into a troubled world and make mankind whole again.”
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