Ephesus At A Glance
The Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church was established in 1924 in Harlem, New York City. It quickly became a beacon of hope in a community that was struggling with poverty, racism, and discrimination. The church had a strong commitment to community service and social involvement from the outset, and this has remained a core part of its mission over the years.
In 1930, Ephesus moved into its present location at 123rd Street and Lenox Avenue. It later bought the building for around $105,000 and satisfied the mortgage in 1945. It was also in 1930 that the church changed its name from Harlem #2 Seventh-day Adventist Church to Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church. Listed as the first church in Revelation 1:11, the name Ephesus has loosely come to mean ‘first amongst equals’. It became a central hub for the African American Adventist community in New York City. During the civil rights era, it took a stand against racial injustices and its leaders were on the frontline to save Harlem Hospital. This activism continued into the 1980s when the church fought to ensure fair housing in New York City and adequate health care for all. The fight continues into the new millennium with the congregation and its leadership advocating for fair rezoning laws which guarantee affordable housing to the poor and vulnerable in the community.
One of the most challenging times in New York City was during the crack epidemic, and members of the congregation volunteered at Hale House to assist in caring for babies who were born drug-dependent. The church also launched a weekly feeding program and clothing distribution to a growing homeless population.
The Ephesus church has also been the seat of great musical talents consisting of soloists, award-winning choirs, dexterous musicians, and acclaimed groups and ensembles. The famed Boys’ Choir of Harlem started at Ephesus, with several members singing and touring with the choir. Over the years, luminaries from across the world and here at home have attended Ephesus, including Fidel Castro and Malcolm X.
Ephesus values Christian Education, and in 1948, it co-founded a primary school and has been a stalwart supporter of Northeastern Academy. Numerous clubs and organizations within the church have made it their mission to support Christian education, including the King's Daughters, Concerned Committee for Christian Education, the Carlyle Donovan Scholarship Fund, the Oakwood Alumni Association, the Labelles, and the Early Morning Prayer band. Each has provided numerous scholarships, tuition assistance, and financial aid to dozens of students. The church also awards 3-way scholarships to its members attending Adventist institutions of higher learning.
In 1955, the Ephesus Youth Church was organized. The first of its kind in the conference. the youth church provided a platform for training and developing its young people to better serve the church and the world. The youth of Ephesus has enjoyed a stellar history with an active AYM program, Pathfinders, and sports teams. They are repeated champions in Bible Bowls and conference-wide basketball and baseball championships.
The Ephesus church has a rich history of service to the community and a deep commitment to their faith. However, one of the darkest periods in the church’s history occurred in 1969 when their beloved church building was gutted by fire. Members stood in shock as the only elements that could be saved were two stained glass windows. The top 20 feet of its majestic steeple had to be removed because of structural damage. Despite the devastation, the fire brigade took great care to preserve the structure of the building which was constructed in 1886.
This event marked the beginning of what the church members called ‘the wilderness years’. It took 8 years to completely rebuild the church, including its two sanctuaries at a cost of 2.3 million dollars. Ironically, the church had been recently refurbished in 1968, a year before it was destroyed by the great fire. Undaunted, the members rebuilt, and in 1977 they marched triumphantly from St. Andrews back to their beloved home, Ephesus. Untiringly, they persisted and burned its rebuilding mortgage in 1983.
The Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist church is inextricably linked to the St Andrews Episcopal Church whose members opened up their space and allowed the congregation to worship in their sanctuary from 1969 to 1977. Although it remained uncapped for many years, the final 20 feet of the steeple was replaced in 2006 as part of an exterior restoration project at a cost of 1.6 million dollars. The New York Times hailed it as a testimony of the faith and will of the congregation to have their symbol as a beacon of hope for all who gaze on it be restored.
Service to the community has always been a part of the mission of the Ephesus church. The church operated the community-based organization, Harlem Trailblazers, which offered training and skills coaching to neighborhood youths. Later the Resource Center would provide computer training and GED classes. Financial seminars are also offered to the community. The church has representation on the local police precinct community affairs board, community board 4, and the Mount Morris Park neighborhood associations. In the community, the church can be seen participating in the annual Night Out Against Crime, the African American Day Parade, and Neighborhood cleanups.
A Sabbath School Extension at the Rikers Island Correctional facility operated for years. The Sabbath School also teamed up with the Greater Harlem Nursing Home to bring weekly fellowship and activities to its residents. The church also sponsors its annual Vacation Bible School which offers daily classes and activities to children in the area during the summer months.
The church is strongly committed to a healthy lifestyle. It sponsors an annual health fair and offers classes in vegan and vegetarian cooking, smoking cessation, and eliminating alcohol use. The Daniel diet plan is presented regularly, and there is an active cycling club that meets year-round. A CPR certification course is offered for members and community personnel on a rotating basis. The church has teamed up with the New York City Department of Health to address health concerns that are adversely affecting the African American community. The church has also partnered with Touro College and Cornell Medical Center to provide health screenings to the community.
The church boasts a number of centenarians over the years, and its seniors have won swimming and golf championships. Classes in crocheting, quilt making, photography, and introduction to computers are all taught to senior members. For the past 50 continuous years, the Helping Hands group has provided a hot meal on Thanksgiving and Christmas to senior members of the community.
The pandemic has highlighted the significance of mental health and wellness on a global scale. Ephesus, along with the Triumph Research Team from Columbia University and various churches in the Greater New York region, has joined forces to foster discussions on mental health within the context of the Black church. Through ongoing mental health screenings, and a range of initiatives including advocacy, panel discussions, and workshops, these organizations aim to break the silence and stigma surrounding this health issue and promote open dialogue.
We reflect with gratitude on the rich history of the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church which stands as a shining example of faith, perseverance, and community. From its humble beginnings as a splinter group of 300 who believed in the Adventist message, it has grown into a thriving congregation with members from all over the world. Through the challenges of fires, tragedies, and rebuilding efforts, the members of this church have remained steadfast in their commitment to one another and to spreading the gospel message. Its impact on the wider Seventh-day Adventist church and the world at large cannot be overstated, as its leaders have gone on to serve in various capacities, influencing countless lives and spreading the gospel message far and wide.
The story of the Ephesus church is a reminder of the power of faith and community, and of the incredible things that can be accomplished when we work together towards a common goal. May its legacy continue to inspire and uplift generations to come.
Special thanks to Harold Stenbar, Caroline Jones, Jeanette Lewis, Eld. Harry Blackman, Pastor C. A. Murray, Joseph Merriweather, Eld. Douglas Morgan, Alan Price, and our church photographers on their work and efforts in preserving the history of the Ephesus Church.
-Chronicled by Basil Daley
The Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist church traces its origins to James K. Humphrey, whose evangelistic ministry, begun in 1903, gave rise to black Adventism in New York City, where he established seven congregations over the next two decades. Overcrowding at the “Mother Church” at 144 W. 131st Street in Harlem, led to the organization of Harlem No. 2 church in 1924 whose 130 members, pastored by Matthew C. Strachan, met at Carlton Hall (a former dance hall), 127th Street and Lenox Avenue.
Carlton Hall also housed Harlem Academy, a 12th-grade Seventh-day Adventist school founded in 1920, and operated jointly by the two Harlem churches. The school's principal for much of the 1920s was James L. Moran, later the first Black president of Oakwood College. Arna Bontemps, the noted Harlem Renaissance author, served on the faculty from 1924-1931, including two years as principal (1928-1930). The secondary grades were discontinued in 1932 under the economic stress of the Great Depression, but Harlem Academy's legacy would later be continued by Northeastern Academy.
Conflict over equality and self-determination for the black church caused Elder Humphrey and the 600-member Harlem No. 1 church to withdraw from the denominational governance near the end of 1929. Soon afterward, on June 18, 1930, the 250 members (approximately) of Harlem No. 2, now led by Pastor G.E. Peters, marched from Carlton Hall to their new church home -the present edifice at 123rd Street and Lenox Avenue. It was then that Harlem No. 2 became “Ephesus,” the name derived from the first of the seven churches in the book of Revelation.
The Ephesus Effect
The fact that, as of 2023, thirty-six congregations and nine schools in the U.S., Canada, Barbados, and Jamaica bear the name “Ephesus” in itself testifies to the “Ephesus Effect” in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. When the Second Harlem church took the name “Ephesus” in 1930, it was not the very first Adventist congregation to do so. But the Washington, D.C., congregation that was the first in 1917 later changed its name, leaving no doubt that from at least the mid-1950s forward, the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church is located on the corner of Lenox Avenue and 123rd Street, Harlem, New York City. By then, Ephesus in Harlem had attained distinctive status as a bulwark and symbol of Black Adventism—its largest congregation, located in Black America’s most renowned center of influence.
The denomination’s top administrative leadership recognized that Ephesus was key to the success of the Adventist cause among African Americans. That cause was an existential crisis when the Ephesus era began in 1930. The 600-member First Harlem Church, led by J.K. Humphrey, had just separated from the denomination due to racial injustice, constituting a loss of close to 10% of the entire African American membership at the time. G. E. Peters, the denomination’s most effective Black evangelist during the 1910s and 1920s, had just been appointed director of the North American Negro Department, but church leaders now sent him to New York City, seeing him as the man best equipped to lead out in repairing the damage caused by the Humphrey schism and making the city once again a dynamic center of Black Seventh-day Adventism.
The imposing edifice at 123rd and Lenox that became the congregation’s new home was a vital asset in that endeavor. But in 1939 they were in danger of losing it. After leasing it for nine years, the owners now wanted to sell it, and they were asking for $150,000, far more than the congregation could manage on its own. Other parties were very interested in acquiring it, including the controversial “Father Divine” (aka George Baker), whose PeaceMission movement was attracting much attention at the time. During those nine years, though, Elder Peters, under the Lord’s blessing, and with the support of loyal and self-sacrificial members, succeeded in filling the church with hundreds of new members. The “Ephesus Effect” built momentum and influenced the denomination’s leaders to do something out of the ordinary to ensure that it continued to thrive.
On July 5, 1939, the General Conference president, J. L. McElhany, and other executive officers, along with the Greater New York Conference president, the Atlantic Union Conference president, and the presidents of all the union conferences in North America—white brethren one and all—came to Harlem and met at Ephesus Church to conduct business. Though little had been done to correct racial inequities in the denomination, Elder McElhany recognized that Ephesus had proven itself indispensable. Something was happening here that had to be fostered and might be irreparably disrupted if the building was lost. So he called upon his fellow leaders to come and see and support a joint effort to finance the purchase of the Ephesus church property.
The GC brethren, though, would never have come to Harlem had not Ephesus, led by Elder Thomas M. Rowe (Peters’ successor), taken the initiative. On short notice, the congregation raised $5,000 in donations and another $15,000 through the sale of equities in smaller properties. The GC worked out a loan to cover the rest of the purchase, and a plan was agreed upon in which the GC, Atlantic Union, and Greater New York Conference would share with Ephesus the burden of paying off the debt over an eight-year period. They did it in six, burning the mortgage two years early in 1945.
The “Ephesus Effect” would also be seen in the success of the regional or Black-administered conferences organized in 1944 and 1945. The conferences were not the solution most Black Adventists sought, which was complete desegregation and equality in all of the denomination’s institutions and administrative units. But the regional conferences did provide something heretofore lacking—the opportunity for Black church members to elect their own conference leaders who in turn would have authority to make plans to advance the church in their territories and decisions about hiring and appropriation of funds.
Many white church leaders were skeptical that regional conferences would be administered effectively. Elder McElhany must have had Ephesus in mind when, at a special meeting in April 1944 to discuss the regional conference plan, he told the skeptics that he had seen Black Adventist ministers successfully lead 1,000-member congregations and thus was certain they could lead conferences as well (at the time only Ephesus and Shiloh Church in Chicago were close to 1,000 in membership). Ephesus comprised close to half of the 2,200 members of the Northeastern Conference when it began its first full year of operation in 1945. It would continue to anchor the conference for decades to come, providing a financial base and reservoir of lay leadership that helped propel Northeastern toward its current (2022) membership of 62,075, the largest of the Black conferences in the United States.
Pastor - Later Position(s)
G. E. Peters - Director, North American Colored Department.
Thomas M. Rowe - President, Central States Conference
W. S. Lee - Director, Regional Affairs Dept. of Pacific Union Conference; Executive Secretary, Central Union Conference
R. T. Hudson - President, Northeastern Conference
Calvin Rock - President, Oakwood University: Vice President, General Conference
John Nixon - Pastor, Atlantic Union College, Oakwood University, and Southern Adventist University churches.
Robert H. Carter - President, Lake Union Conference (first African American union president)
R. Clifford Jones - President, Lake Region Conference; Dean, School of Theology, Oakwood University
Sherwin Jack - Pastor, Atlanta Berean (4600 members)
Dedrick Blue - Dean, School of Theology, Oakwood University; Ministerial Director, Northeastern Conference
-Written by Elder Douglas Morgan, Ph.D.
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