CHURCH HISTORY
Though reluctant at first, Sister Juanita Turner was strongly motivated to accept her call into pastoral ministry one day while riding in a car with her friend, Sister Yvonne Johnson. Sister Johnson said, “Sister Turner, my life depends on getting a church set up, and you’re moving into the ministry.” Little did Sister Yvonne Johnson know how those words would impact this future pastor’s life.
On November 28, 1982, seventeen saints met with Sister Turner in her Hyattsville, Maryland, home. She shared the vision the Lord had given her about establishing others in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fifteen of those present that day readily embraced the vision and became chartered members of the new church. The members included Pastor Turner, Virginia Gray, Yvonne Johnson, Myrtle Mangrum, Bertha Walters, Veronica Allison, Irene Bailey, Evon Coles, Allen, and Anne Lancaster, Ronald and Livia Shuler, Adrienne Smith and Aaron and Shirley Turner. The Lord had instructed Pastor Turner to name the church “The New Covenant Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Six subsequent services were held in Pastor Turner’s living room. On New Year’s Eve 1982, New Covenant Church moved to a small storefront building on Rhode Island Avenue in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. God had made His unique mark on New Covenant Church from the beginning. Often, and without musical accompaniments such as an organ, piano, or drums, the congregation praised the Lord with its rhythmic hands and dancing feet. The tambourines sounded just like a victorious, mighty army! The adult choir was formed to bless the Lord with melody and harmony. Soon, the congregation became too big for the Rhode Island Avenue building, so the enlargements of the Lord forced this young body of believers to move to a new location. In fact, on July 1, 1986, the ministry began to worship in the multi-purpose room of the United Methodist Church in downtown Mt. Rainier.
Limited use of the United Methodist Church facilities posed a problem for New Covenant. The church needed its own space to serve the Lord like it wanted to do. Eventually, God blessed New Covenant Church to purchase a modest property on 36th Avenue in Hyattsville. A small, shanty-like building on the site was donated in the sale of the property. The Lord told Pastor Turner that the condition of the building before its makeover represented the condition of people’s lives. He would send to the ministry for deliverance—the unloved and the unwanted.
By His grace, the Lord anointed the congregation, young and old alike, to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding the worn-out structure. The walls were painted; the baptismal pool was restored; the floors were carpeted; the bathrooms were decorated; the kitchen was so polished until it sparkled; the Pastor’s study was completed; the drapes were hung, and the chairs were put in place. Just a few hours before the first service at the little white church began, Brother Ronald Lancaster and others, using old shelves from the wall of an area near the Pastor’s office, built the lectern, which became the pulpit, and installed it. The new edifice was dedicated to the Lord on September 24, 1987, with Bishop Walter Kearse, Jr. of Augusta, Georgia, presiding over the service. God, in His infinite wisdom, handled every detail.
The little white church was always more than just a beautiful building. In other words, lives were changing; people were being grounded in the Word of God; young and old alike were being filled with the Holy Ghost, and new ministries to reach the lost were taking shape at New Covenant Church.
Church growth was phenomenal until an early Sunday morning service had to be added at 8:00 A.M. Still, the 11:00 A.M. service overflowed. With such a great explosion in membership, it was evident that the ministry would have to relocate once more since there was no room to build on the premises. God spoke to Pastor Turner and told her to “pursue the school.” It soon became evident that God was referring to an elementary school in Colmar Manor, Maryland, the city officials were no longer using for educational purposes. The school was a sight to behold, also!
Having submitted the best bid and proposal for the use of the school that was situated on 5.2 acres of land, Pastor Turner, as well as the members of The New Covenant Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, had a victory march through parts of Colmar Manor to the school site on May 26, 1991. Finally, over a year later, on June 27, 1992, to be exact, the church family moved in to occupy its “city of refuge” on the hill. Years have passed since then, yet the ministry continues to draw all kinds of people to its sacred borders.
In September 1996, the New Covenant Christian Academy became a living reality; it opened its doors for the first time. The Academy was comprised of a nursery and an elementary school division. (A middle school was added later.)
Bishop Turner’s vision of The New Covenant Church of the Lord Jesus Christ becoming an established people and a many-membered, healthy functioning body continues to blossom. In fact, in April 2006, the Lord enlarged her vision once again.
It is true that over the years, the ministry has undergone many changes on this hill in its quest to walk in its purpose and carry out its mission for the Lord Jesus Christ. In preparation for the tremendous move of God that had already taken place at New Covenant Church, Bishop Turner and the people of God were challenged in 2006 to embrace renovation and expansion of the work as part of what God wanted to do with this generation in these last days. That ever-increasing vision also included Bishop Turner calling Elders David and Adrienne Smith close by her side and installing them as Pastors for the awesome, unfolding times ahead. That solemn ordination service occurred during the 2007 silver anniversary celebration of New Covenant Church.
In summation, the history of this church is captured in the fact that prayer, in addition to work—financially, physically, and spiritually—continues to transform this school-building-turned-church-building into a cathedral of beauty that will bring even greater glory and honor to His Name when the job has been completed! Enlargement means more space can be dedicated to one of the greater missions of this church: to gather in those souls nobody else wants and empower them to become the people of God they were created to be!
Even though the late Bishop Juanita E. Turner, our beloved leader for over thirty-one years, took flight on May 11, 2014, and went from honorable labor to blessed reward, a part of her spirit still lingers in everyone whose life she touched. You could not have known her and not have been positively impacted by her life. Bishop Turner was an outstanding example of kingdom leadership, and her voice will never be silenced at the New Covenant Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God has blessed the New Covenant Church to continue its mission to expand and enlarge under the awesome leadership of Pastors David and Adrienne Smith. They grasped Bishop Turner’s baton and continue to walk steadfastly, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they are building the ministry by teaching the Word of God “line upon line, precept upon precept.” We reflect on Bishop’s prophetic word: "New Covenant is about to embark upon its finest hour." And so, while we revel in our past glories, we joyfully anticipate the bright promise of an even more glorious future.