Mother Lula Lightey Phillips was born in Centerville, AL, in 1864. She spent her early life in Birmingham, AL, attending the Good Hope Baptist Church. She later joined the Triumph of the Church & Kingdom of God in Christ. She started her first mission under the Triumph umbrella in 1910 at 46 in Avondale, AL, on Second Ave. It was in 1915 that she felt the call of God to move to the state of West Virginia (Mount Hope). By 1917, she had established three churches under the Triumph umbrella. In 1919, Mother Lula Phillips traveled to Indianapolis, IN, for the First International Congress of the Triumph Church. In Indianapolis, she first heard the Jesus Name message preached by The Honorable Bishop G. T. Haywood (1st Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.).
In 1920, the Death of Father E. D. Smith (Founder of Triumph the Church) shook the Saints of The Triumph Body, which led to the establishment of the GLORIOUS CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST in 1921. Although Mother Phillips never served as Presider, there were no Bishops during her tenure. She’s known and respected as the Founder/Pastor of the Headquarters (Mother) Church in Huntington, WV. She received the revelation of Jesus’ Name Baptism in 1922, as taught by Elder Zoupher of the PAW, Inc., and was baptized with her seven Churches. After this baptism, the Glorious Church of God in Christ became known as an Apostolic Faith Organization.
On March 14, 1939, while preaching “The Channel of Truth,” Mother Lula Phillips succumbed to a fatal heart attack. After the passing of Mother Lula Phillips, The Original Glorious Church of God in Christ of the Apostolic Faith was led by outstanding leaders such as Mother Mattie Whitehurst, Bishop Sidney C. Bass, Bishop C. H. Stokes, Bishop W. O. Howard, Bishop I. W. Hamiter, Bishop Oney. D. Fitzpatrick, Bishop David Blount, Bishop John Sheffield, Emeritus Bishop John Pace, and Bishop Levi Daniels, who served as Assistant General Bishop.
Today, the Original Glorious Church of God in Christ of the Apostolic Faith Inc. is led by our 9th General Bishop, the Honorable Bishop Dr. Charles M. Laster, Sr. Since 1977, our headquarters has been in Cleveland, Ohio.
One notable descendant of the Original Glorious Church Organization would be The Late Bishop Quander “Papi” L. Wilson, Founder of the Greater Emmanuel Apostolic Faith Tabernacles, Inc., who once pastored Glorious Faith Tabernacle of Oberlin, Ohio. It’s also known that Bishop T. D. Jakes (who was ordained by Bishop Quander Wilson) ran many Revivals for the Original Glorious Churches in West Virginia in his early years.
Many great and notable leaders have passed through the corridors of the Original Glorious Church of God in Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc., and have gone on to do remarkable works in the Kingdom of Christ!
We thank God for the Vision and Life of our Founder, Mother Lula L. Phillips. Her work remains strong after 100 years and will continue to go forward.