New Zion Temple Church - Worldwide Fellowship, Inc.
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
New Zion Temple Church Worldwide Fellowship, Inc. was founded as The Little Church on Ruthven Street, a Church Of God In Christ congregation. Bishop Hayward W. Falls fulfilled the communitys needs by using donated supplies to erect a wood-framed storefront building in March 1933 at 1601 Ruthven, in the historic Freedmens Town district of the fourth ward. He bought the property in 1938 and sold it to church trustees for one dollar. When the storefront building was expanded and renovated in September 1941, the name was changed to New Zion Temple Church Of God In Christ. The current edifice was erected and opened in May 1946. The congregation remained under Church Of God In Christ jurisdiction until May 1951, when Elder Falls heeded the call of God and established New Zion Temple as Non-denominational. Elder Falls was an early disciple and later an overseer of the Latter Rain Movement, which interprets the bible in a symbolic and stylized manner. With the organization of the Worldwide Fellowship in 1952, New Zion Temple became headquarters and host for its national meetings and conventions. On May 26, 1983, its name officially changed to include Worldwide Fellowship, Inc. New Zion Temple has been committed to spreading the word of God. With its assistance, other churches have been established in Texas, California, Louisiana, Ohio, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and England. Today, the congregation supports a food pantry and clothes closet, annual holiday donations, a prison ministry, and Juneteenth celebrations. Known for its generosity, the church has served as a nucleus for social, economic, educational, political, and cultural life. * 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
New Zion Temple began in 1933 as 'The Little Church on Ruthven Street,' a storefront Church of God in Christ congregation that Bishop Hayward W. Falls built from donated supplies in Houston's Freedmen's Town. Falls later led it out of the denomination to become nondenominational and made it the headquarters of the Worldwide Fellowship, from which affiliated churches spread across several states and abroad.
Why it matters
Its rise from a Fourth Ward storefront to an international fellowship reflects the community-building power of Black churches in Freedmen's Town and beyond.
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Related people
- · Bishop Hayward W. Falls
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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