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Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

September 1992 – September 2017

Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church came into being as a local church congregation of baptized believers on September 27, 1992.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and under the leadership of Pastor Arthur J. Eberhardt, Sr., twenty-six men and women of faith met together in a prayer service at True Hope Church of God in Christ. Dr. Arelious Walker, Pastor of True Hope, welcomed Pastor Eberhardt and the small group into the comfort and peace of the sanctuary of True Hope. Pastor Eberhardt taught a Bible lesson from Genesis 19:1-29. The twenty-six members, including Pastor Eberhardt, and his wife, Sister Albirda Eberhardt, made a commitment on that night of July 9, 1992, to never look back, but to move onward and upward in Christ, Philippians 3:13-14.

The following Sunday, July 16, 1992, the original group, which assumed the name: Saint Paul Gospel Prayer Group, was joined by over 50 additional members. The first worship service was held in the basement quarters of Benjamin Franklin Middle School, located at Scott and O’Farrell Streets, San Francisco. Pastor Eberhardt preached from the text drawn from Philippians 3:13-14. His subject was “Moving Onward and Upward in Christ”. After moving to Benjamin Franklin Middle School, the congregation out grew the facility. We then moved to Wallenberg High School. In less than two years, the church had out grew this facility. The temporary locations served their purpose and were not owned by Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church.

September 27, 1992 is the day the Saint Paul Gospel Group, which started out with twenty-six members had grown to 134 dedicated and committed members. In just over nine weeks, Saint Paul was blessed of the Lord with a growing congregation of spiritually liberated men, women, and children. November 21, 1993, Saint Paul had grown to one hundred fifty-five (155).

In 1996, the church purchased a building (our current location) 1789 Oakdale Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124. Sis. Cassie Cook worked with Pastor Eberhardt as he organized Saint Paul Tabernacle. She served as the interior designer of the building. On September 1, 1996, Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church family held their first worship services in their newly acquired sanctuary. Pastor Eberhardt baptized fourteen new members and spoke eloquently on the subject “Oneness” taken from Ephesians 4:1-7. The entire church congregation joyfully partook of the Lord’s Supper. The family and guests fellowshipped and celebrated the new home of the Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Former pastors were: (Rev. Arthur J. Eberhardt, Sr., founder (10 years); Dr. Ambrose Carroll (3 years); Rev. Billy Ware, pastor emeritus (6+ years); and currently, Bishop Wm. Greg Valentine DDiv., Senior Pastor (since April 26, 2015). Each pastor has been instrumental for growth to the body of Christ.

On December 14, 2001, a food pantry was established, donating 80-100 bags to the Bayview community. Many of the original founding members were called to Glory and had passed away. The Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church was going through a transition. In July of 2004, Rev. Ambrose Carroll accepted the call to pastor after Pastor Eberhardt took ill. In November of 2004, Saint Paul celebrated together the retirement of Pastor Eberhardt and the installation of Pastor Carroll.

Under the leadership of Dr. Carroll, Saint Paul began to reach out to the younger generation. The music ministry grew with the help of Prince Damons, Minister of Music, who created an outlet for young

people throughout the Bay Area to display their talents and gifts in song, poetry, dance, and instruments. In 2007, Dr. Carroll was called to pastor in Denver, CO.

In January 2008, by unanimous decision, the congregation voted to have Rev. Billy Ware as the next Pastor of Saint Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church. Under his leadership, the membership grew. To date, Rev. Ware has baptized 14 people and received another 10 into the congregation. He continues with prison ministry, Bible study in his home, and helps with the building. In 2010, under the power of the Holy Spirit and Rev Ware’s leadership, 4 new deacons were ordained and 4 new ministers were in training for ordination.

At the beginning 2014, Pastor Ware announced he would be retiring as pastor of Saint Paul. God saw fit to call Bishop Greg Valentine as pastor in the beginning of 2015. Pastor Valentine has the current assignment that God has given him to move Saint Paul Tabernacle forward in God’s will.

On August 28, 2015, the Saint Paul tabernacle building suffered great vandalism damage. While the damage was interior, we realized it could have been tremendously worse. God blessed us with a new direction and this was a shift and transition of time to grow closer to our Father in Heaven.

Under the leadership of Bishop Wm. Greg Valentine, Saint Paul has a goal to pay off our Church Mortgage within the next 5 years so we can focus solely on Ministry, Outreach, and Bible Study. A Prayer Line twice a day is hosted by ministries of the church. A Saint Paul Tabernacle Facebook page was created and is maintained by Pastor and First Lady Valentine. They have established a Video Ministry and broadcast each Sunday on Facebook. The Givelify App was introduced for members traveling or on vacation. Currently, our church teams up with other churches to do Outreach Evangelism, to pray for people, and clothe and feed the homeless.

On May 28, 2016, there were six ministers who graduated from Pneuma Theological Seminary, Oakland, California. They were awarded degrees: Elder Cornell Doss, B.A. Degree, Theology; Min. Tyrone Smith, Certificate in Biblical Studies; Rev. Dr. Joycelyn Tatum, M.A., Theology/Christian Counseling; Rev. Dr. Patricia Tatum, M.A., Theology/Christian Counseling; Bishop Wm. Greg Valentine, Doctorate in Divinity, and Sis. Annie Gloston-Ware, M.S. Degree, Theology.

The church is fortunate to have had three assistant pastors, (Rev. Don Shaw, Rev. Billy Ware, and currently Rev. Dr. Joycelyn Tatum, DDiv). At least twelve associate ministers: Rev. Dr. Albirda Rose-Eberhardt, Rev. Robert Morgan-Wilde, Rev. Carolyn Wilson, Min. Roger Holmes, Rev. Natalya Johnson, *Rev. Dr. Patricia Tatum, DDiv, *Min. Kenny Osborne, Min. Sean Rouse, Min. Tyrone Smith, *Elder Cornell Doss, *Pastor Kevin Brown, and *Min. JaSeena Duckworth. Of these twelve ministers, five (*5) are currently active as associate ministers at Saint Paul.

Of the Founding Members, there are 33 members alive. Of which 20 are still on the active roster with the church. As of September 2017, Saint Paul Tabernacle has 101 members on roster.

As we celebrate these past 25 years of existence, we are grateful to God and we will press

forward to reach our 26th year. We have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord, Jesus Christ!

Full History of Saint Paul Tabernacle is on file in Church Office.

Last Updated 09/2017.