Our Church History

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Our church can be traced in the New England area for more than five (5) decades. It was founded by the Reverend Lonnie Gorham and was incorporated with the Unified Freewill Baptist Church Organization with twenty-three members.  The church was formed under the state statutes governing the incorporation of Protestant churches in the state and was under the Jurisdiction of the Reverend Lord Taylor, Moderator of the Southern CT District.

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The first structure was a store front buildings on 14 Sixth Street.  The church moved to a store front on Hallett St. from there to Pembroke and from there to State. St. on the West End of Bridgeport. In December of 1973,  Reverend Gorham was evelated to the call of Bishop.  Bishop Lonnie Gorham gave his resignation and went to Pastor the Pitts Chapel UFW Baptist Church in New Haven, CT.  Our founder,  Bishop Gorham went home to be with Lord on April 11, 1985.  Also, the founding Mother Lottie Fields Gorham passed from death to life on December 12, 1995.

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On the second Sunday in January of 1974, Reverend Ardean Richardson became the Pastor.  The church rented at 1228 State St for rwo years.  In March of 1976, Reverend Ardean Richardson took all her money which amounted to ($3,000) and made a down payment on 1242 State St. to purchase a place for a church; what was formerly known as the West End Bowling Alley.  On June 6, 1976 we marched into our new edifice. By God’s grace and the sacrifice of Reverend Richardson , who pastored for $35.00 a week for two years and then $50.00 a week for four years,  the building was paid-off in four years.

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In November of 1980,  the edifice that we now reside in,  was purchased in the amount of $110,000.00 and with much prayer, labor and the love of many devoted members the church was paid off April of 1986. In 1983 the members voted to leave the Unified Freewill Baptist Incorporated and to become the Mother Church of the Holy Ghost Deliverance Incorporated. The church name was then changed to Mt. Olive HGD Church and remained so until 1997.   In a vote of May 1997 the church voted to drop Mt. Olive and just be called Holy Ghost Deliverance 1.

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Extensive renovations have been made to the present edifice. In 1997 we purchased new pews, an air conditioning unit and continue to move forward with prayer and perseverance in the Holy Ghost.

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There are seven auxiliaries in the church, a media ministry and a radio ministry. The church has birthed a host of pastors and continues to give birth to Apostles, Pastor, Prophets, Teachers and Evangelists.