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Church History

Apostle George H. Wiley III, D.D. founded the Mt. Hebron Apostolic Temple of our Lord and Jesus Christ, of the Apostolic Faith, Inc. in June, 1956.

With his wife, the late Mother Lucille E. Wiley by his side, the headquarters church, Temple No. 1 started with nine members. The church was located at 445 Nepperhan Avenue; and in that building, God wrought many signs, wonders and miracles.

Temple No. 2 was organized in March, 1963 when two praying women, Mother Lucille Hall and Missionary Jennie White saw our Chief Apostle preaching at the Highway Christian Church where Bishop Lomax was pastor and desired him for their spiritual leader. After speaking with Apostle & Mother Wiley, and fasting and praying three days and nights, the Lord established the church at 2498 - 8th Avenue, in Manhattan.  

In 1968, Temple No. 2 moved to 2515 - 8th Avenue, which was a larger facility, and remained there until 1975, when the Lord blessed them to purchase a building at 12 West 183rd Street, Bronx, NY, which is their present location.

In 1969, the Lord blessed the Headquarters church, Temple No. 1 to march from 445 Nepperhan Avenue to our present location, 27 Vineyard Avenue. This building has been acclaimed an historic landmark, and all renovations on this building were done by our Chief Apostle and many faithful brethren in the congregation. Our Chief Apostle often tells us the story of how the Lord protected them as they were preparing this building for worship.

In 1978, Temple No. 3 was established by our Chief Apostle in Wallace, NC and started with three members: Mother Maggie Williams, Mother Minnie Bell Kornegay, and Sister Fredia Kornegay. Our Chief Apostle along with many other warriors, traveled to North Carolina many years and carried the services on, sometimes in the saints' homes, or other facilities. "But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..." in July, 1989 the Lord blessed us to purchase three acres of land in Watha, North Carolina, which is the site of "the City of Mt. Hebron", and the new location of Temple No. 3.

The Mt. Hebron Temple organization continued to expand as new affiliate churches joined the work: Apostolic Temple, Greenville, SC & Church of God, Sardis, GA, where Bishop James Neeley is the pastor.

In 2005, the Lord saw fit to reunite Apostle Wiley with his son in the Gospel, Bishop Jeremiah Ravenell. After expressing his desire to return to his spiritual father, God revealed to Apostle Wiley in 2007 to appoint Bishop Ravenell as the Presiding Apostle of the Mt. Hebron Temple Organization.

The Lord blessed us to fulfill one of our Apostle's final requests by consolidating our New York churches in one location under one pastor. We have since been able to do major renovations on our Headquarters location, and are encouraged to Continue the Vision!

"One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism - Lord, Make Us One!"

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