Letter from our Pastor
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Grace and peace be multiplied unto you from God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son and our Lord!
Sister Cherry and I are excited to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of From the Heart Church Ministries®. We want to thank God for His faithfulness to us as a local church and a worldwide ministry. We have had many experiences with God over our four-decade long history, yet we know the Will of God is in front of us. As we take this time to look back and reflect, I hope that you remember who we are and what we have been taught. We are called From the Heart because of the Word of God that has been sown in our hearts. We have obeyed God from the heart. We love God from the heart. We have done the Will of God from the heart and we give from the heart.
Since 1981, the taught Word of God has been foundational to the success of this ministry. We know that it is God and His goodness that has allowed this church to flourish and be a source of strength, truth and righteousness. Through Excellence of Ministry® in Our Character, Conduct and Commitment to the Faith, God has established our church on a firm foundation. We have been prepared, made ready, for God’s next move and now we have an emphasis to build on the vision that God gave our Founder, the late Dr. John A. Cherry (1940 – 2019).
Over the past year, we have all experienced a worldwide health pandemic. We have modified how we have church but not changing who we are. Our steadfast commitment to God and the church has kept us through this difficult time. God is unchanging and His Will for His church has not changed. We continue to have uninterrupted weekly Worship Services because we know the importance of coming together, albeit online, as a body of believers. As a church body we love God, we love one another…and we love our church! We are truly appreciative to God for leading us by His Spirit to our church and for what He has accomplished in us, individually and collectively as a ministry.
Finally, I would like to thank every member of the church for your share. If you have contributed to the work of the ministry in any way over the last 40 years know that your share was important, sufficient and necessary. I am also appreciative to all those saints who have gone home to be with the Lord, but whose impact in the ministry was invaluable. I am forever grateful for my father (our founder) for living a productive life, raising the productivity of those around him and leaving a deposit for many generations.
I hope you thoroughly enjoy our Anniversary activities and services, reflecting on God’s goodness and grace in your life and in our ministry. From the Heart, to God Be the Glory for the Things that He Has Done!
Bishop John A. Cherry, II – Pastor
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Congratulatory Letters and Messages
Greetings in the Matchless Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On behalf of Reverend Cook, myself, and the entire From the Heart Church Ministries of Cincinnati family we say congratulations to From the Heart Church Ministries (the “Parent Church!”) on celebrating 40 years of ministry! We wholeheartedly rejoice with you, “[f]or the LORD is good, his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
We thank God for His faithfulness; and we are appreciative of what God has done in, and through the Parent Church over these 40 years. Moreover, we are appreciative of all that the Parent Church has done for From the Heart Church Ministries of Cincinnati and From the Heart Church Ministries Worldwide®. Thank you for your love, sacrifice, support, commitment, and steadfast example. It is a privilege and honor to be part of such an excellent worldwide ministry; a ministry that is established on the Good News of Jesus Christ; empowered by the Holy Spirit; guided by a clear vision; and lead by godly and courageous leadership.
Bishop and Rev. Cherry, as we celebrate with our Parent Church family, it is our sincere prayer and hearts’ desire that God would richly bless and keep you both as you continue to lead From the Heart, worldwide. We also pray that God will sustain the Parent Church and From the Heart Church Ministries Worldwide® for many generations to come. From our hearts to yours, please receive this contribution to the Joseph H. Cherry Scholarship Fund as our gift to you. God bless you and we love you!
In Christ's Service,
I would like to congratulate you for the 40th year anniversary as parent church. It is such a milestone to for someone faithful and to steadfast in worship of God for ample years as such. I would like to appreciate you’re the Episcopal pastor for the relentless support that you as well as your family has been extending in spreading the Gospel around the world. I praise God for this church and for making it a device to bless me and many more others. May God continue to lead and guide us in this ministry through you. We love you all from the Heart. From the Heart Ethiopia. Thank you .
Have wonderful celebration In Christian Service ,
Dear Episcopal Pastor and Mrs. John A. Cherry, II and all our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We as From From the Heart Church Ministries of Paarl, South Africa would like to congratulate you on this blessed occasion. May you continue the journey of success, may you reach forward to the things which are ahead, may you press towards the mark for the prize of the high call of God, may you walk worthy of the Lord and may you not grow weary in doing good. Than you Episcopal Pastor and Mrs. Cherry for your continues leadership, commitment and sacrifice. We pray God's continuous guidance and grace on you.
With love and regards,
On behalf of From the Heart Church Ministries of South Africa©, I want to give all my blessings and dearly congratulate you on 40 years of success, growth and building the kingdom of God by sharing his word to so many people. I am eternally grateful to your late Father, Pastor John A. Cherry and Mrs Cherry, the founders of From the Heart Church Ministries®. From the Heart not only impacted many people in the US, around the world, and specifically in South Africa, but also my personal life and walk with the Lord as a whole. I hope and pray that the foundations that were placed will continue to expand and From the Heart Church Ministries® to keep on growing for many years to come. Thank you for always welcoming me with your open arms and I will eternally be grateful for that. May these celebrations bring many good memories and set the foundation for the future to come.
Much love and regards,
Special Services and Programs
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1986
The Year of the Family
1987
The Year of Peace
1988
The Year of Reconciliation
1990
The Year of Choice Choices
1992
The Year of Freedom From Bondage
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Full Gospel Church began March 19, 1981 with a call from God to the late Dr. John A. Cherry (1940 – 2019) and his wife Reverend Diana Cherry to establish a local church in the Marlow Heights area of Maryland. The church later submitted to a denominational covering. The church and teaching ministry were established with a mission to build strong families by leading people to the Lord, one soul at a time, through a church that taught the people to love God, hate sin, and love to give.
The first church services were held in a “storefront” located in Suitland, Maryland on June 7, 1981. Twenty-four members joined the church during the first Sunday service. By the end of May 1982, the church had received 81 members. Uninterrupted growth caused the membership to triple to 243 by the end of May 1983.
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In September of 1983, within a two-year span, the “little church with the red curtains” was relocated to the corner of St. Barnabas and Wheeler Roads in Temple Hills, Maryland. This location was lovingly referred to as the “housefront.” Overcrowding there led to three services each Sunday. In June of 1985, the church purchased and moved into a Prince George’s County School building located at 4207 Norcross Street in Temple Hills, Maryland. At the end of 1985, we had 1,500 members. In the “school front” services were held in the school’s auditorium while classrooms were used for the Christian School and as office space for the growing staff.
The church outgrew the school auditorium and a gymnatorium was constructed adjacent to the school building. Beginning in February 1989, the “gym front” housed two Sunday services while the original sanctuary served as an overflow room and auxiliary sanctuary. By the end of 1989 we had over 6,000 members. Full Gospel continued to grow at a rapid rate. The membership climbed to over 22,000 in the “gym front” location. As a result, an expansion site referred to as the “South Location” was opened on December 7, 1997.
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On December 31, 2005, Pastor Cherry announced that his son, Bishop John A. Cherry, II, would be installed as the new pastor of the local church. Bishop Cherry, II was officially installed as the Pastor of From the Heart on Sunday, June 4, 2006 at the 25th Anniversary Worship Service, which was held at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. After 25 years of faithful service, Episcopal Pastor John A. Cherry devoted his full attention to oversight over the From the Heart churches worldwide.
On Resurrection Sunday, April 12, 2009, we moved into our current church location at 4949 Allentown Road in Suitland, Maryland in an effort to keep pace with the spiritual, administrative, and financial growth of our ministry and to house our growing congregation under one roof. On August 12, 2010 we experienced a partial roof collapse in our current location but our church was Encouraged to Continue as we were housed in a temporary structure. On Sunday, February 5, 2012 we moved back into our renovated sanctuary and began having one Sunday Worship Service at 9:30 a.m.
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Our church continued to grow and expand and under the instruction of our Episcopal Pastor John A. Cherry, a new expansion location was started in Washington, DC on March 28, 2012. In September of that same year, that location began having Sunday Worship Services and in March of 2014 that growing congregation began renovations to move into a larger facility. In April of 2014 Bishop Cherry, II announced the acquisition of our newest church building at 5055 Allentown Road and we are currently worshipping at our newly expanded campus in Suitland, Maryland.
At the 2014 General Church Meeting of From the Heart Church Ministries Worldwide™ Sunday Worship Service on July 20, 2014, Bishop John A. Cherry, II was consecrated as Bishop and given oversight over several From the Heart churches in the United States. On December 31, 2016, the Episcopal Pastor announced his retirement and after nineteen years of dedicated service Episcopal Pastor John A. Cherry retired on Sunday, July 15, 2018. At that time, Bishop John A. Cherry, II was consecrated as the second Episcopal Pastor of From the Heart Church Ministries Worldwide™ at the closing Service of the 2018 General Church Meeting.
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With each move the “little church with the red curtains” has increased its membership, while at the same time increasing its sphere of influence to a lost and dying world. From the Heart is a warm and friendly church where members experience the love of God through Spirit-filled worship services, special programs and enrichment services, and of course, godly fellowship one with another. Currently, From the Heart has over 24,000 members and more than 50 service ministries that allow members to use their God-given gifts and talents in the service of the Lord. Additionally, From the Heart employs a full-time staff of ministers, administrative personnel, and teachers in the From the Heart Christian School.
The Word being taught uncompromisingly and in an unadulterated manner is the catalyst for the continuous growth of the church. The growth is evidence that Christ Jesus is faithful when He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). From the Heart is a church of spiritual, administrative, and financial excellence where Jesus Christ is Lord!
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FROM THE HEART FACTS
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