Church History

On November 1, 1998, a new Christian fellowship launched in St. Petersburg, Florida, called Souls Harvest Fellowship. The ministry did not begin with a church building, a large congregation, or extensive resources. We began in a more intimate setting: the living room of Robert and Pauline Lemon’s home at 2660 1st Avenue North. This first location became the ministry’s birthplace.

A home may seem like an unlikely place to begin a church, but throughout Christian history, homes have often served as places where believers gathered for prayer, teaching, fellowship, and sharing the Gospel. For Souls Harvest Fellowship, the Lemon home provided that same kind of foundational environment.

The significance of that first location extends beyond its address. It represents the principle that a ministry’s strength is not initially measured by the size of its facility, but by the faith of the people willing to gather, serve, pray, give, and believe God together. Robert and Pauline Lemon became important figures in the ministry’s ongoing story. Robert now serves as Lead Deacon and Pauline as Church Administrator. Thus, the Lemon home was more than the first meeting place of Souls Harvest Fellowship. It was the first physical expression of what would eventually become Exceeding Grace Christian Center.

Within only a few months of its founding, Souls Harvest Fellowship had already outgrown its original setting. On March 7, 1999 , the ministry moved from the Lemon home to the Dwight Jones Neighborhood Center at 1035 Burlington Avenue North in St. Petersburg. This transition marked the first major relocation in the church’s history.

Moving from a private residence into a neighborhood center represented an important step in the ministry’s development. The fellowship was no longer limited to the space available within a home. It was beginning to establish itself more visibly within the St. Petersburg community.

The move also reflected an important characteristic that would continue throughout EGCC’s history: growth required the ministry to make room for what God was doing. Our early history therefore was not simply a series of moves from one address to another. Each relocation reflected a new stage of development.

The ministry grew. Our reach expanded. And our physical surroundings had to expand with it.

The next significant transition came just over a year later. On May 7, 2000, Souls Harvest Fellowship moved again — this time into a rented storefront at 2910 1st Avenue North in St. Petersburg. Moving into a storefront marked another important stage in the ministry’s maturation. The church had progressed from a home → a neighborhood center → a dedicated storefront.

Each location gave us more opportunity to gather and function as an established congregation. A storefront also meant that the ministry was taking on greater responsibility for maintaining a dedicated space for worship, teaching, ministry, and fellowship. It was another step toward permanence. Yet the storefront was not the final destination. It would become a bridge between the church’s early beginnings and the establishment of a permanent home.

One of the most significant dates in our history is August 28, 2001. On that date, we purchased our present property, 2361 7th Avenue South, from Macedonia Freewill Baptist Church. This purchase represented a defining moment in the church’s development. For the first time, the ministry was no longer worshiping in a borrowed, rented, or temporary setting. It had acquired a permanent home.

In less than three years, the ministry had progressed from a home-based fellowship to owning its own church property. That journey illustrates a recurring theme in the history of EGCC: progress through faithfulness. Not only ours, but, most importantly, God’s faithfulness! In His goodness, the Lord blessed us to burn the mortgage in 2016, and EGCC operates today as a totally debt-free ministry!

Acquiring the property gave us a foundation to build on. It created a place to hold worship services, develop ministries, gather families, teach believers, and serve the surrounding community.