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ABOUT US
GREATER FAITH CHRISTIAN CHURCH
PASTOR & CHURCH HISTORY
The Founder and Pastor of Greater Faith Christian Church is Louis W. Bland II. He was born to Louis Bland, Sr. & Idella Jackson in Chicago, IL but was only raised by his mother strictly in the fear and admonition of The Lord. She is the one who introduced him to Jesus Christ and taught him everything about God, Almighty. Based on that great teaching, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord at the tender age of 4.
He was raised up in the church and was exposed to Gospel music from his very existence; that is, in the womb. Being surrounded by pastors and preachers within his family as well as “living in the church”; i.e.; meaning; (when the doors were open, he and his family was there), he was called to preach in 1984. However, he ran from his calling for 7 years, which were the worst 7 years of his life. On March 10, 1991, in the balcony of Greater Mount Eagle Baptist Church, he finally accepted his calling and told The Lord, “You win!” God immediately responded, “I always win!”
From that point, he was directed by God to go to the Original Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church to serve under the leadership of Pastor Louis W. Nance. There he learned the ins and outs of ministry; from marrying to burying, to visiting the sick, to praying and pronouncing the last rights for those going on to their eternal glory. He delivered his trial sermon and was licensed in November 1991. He was officially ordained on August 29, 1993. He served as Assistant Pastor and operated in various capacities from leadership over the other ministers while the Pastor was admitted to the hospital, to administrative roles and even serving as the Pastor’s personal chauffeur.
GREATER FAITH CHRISTIAN CHURCH FAMILY LEADS BY EXAMPLE, LIVES BY FAITH, ARE KNOWN BY OUR LOVE AND GENEROSITY, AND IS A VOICE OF HOPE!
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Bible. We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being verbally inspired and completely inerrant in the original writings and of supreme and final authority in faith and how to successfully live our lives. (Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 10:35; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21)
2. The Godhead. We believe in one God; eternally existing in three persons; The Trinity: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26; Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 6:27; Acts 5:3-4; Hebrews 1:8; II Corinthians 13:14)
A. God, The Father. God is Creator and Sustainer of all that has been created. He is Sovereign Ruler of the entire universe. (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:2-3; Ephesians 4:6)
B. God, The Son. We believe that Jesus Christ, begotten of The Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and Is One with The Father. (Matthew 1:16, 18, 20-25, John 3:16, John 12:44-50, John 14:6-11)
C. God, The Holy Spirit. We believe the ministry of The Holy Spirit is to glorify The Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts, regenerates and then indwells the believer to guide, instruct, comfort and help in every way. (I Corinthians 12; Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:26; John 16:13-15)
3. Virgin Birth. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of The Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and is truly God and truly man. (Matthew 1:16, 20-25; Luke 2:40, 52; Luke 7:48-50; John 1:1-5, 14; John 11:35; Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 2:9)
4. Sin. We believe that all human beings are born sinners, separated from God, and become sinners in thought, word and deed, and unless born again, will be separated from God’s blessing and condemned to eternal punishment (Psalm 51:5; John 3; Romans 6:23; Romans 7:18; Revelation 20).
5. Salvation. We believe that The Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative; a substitution for all and an all sufficient sacrifice in which all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood and are partakers of the abundant life here on earth and throughout eternity. (John 1:29; John 3:16, 10:10; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:25-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 8; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:15 – 3:29; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 7:25)
6. Resurrection of Jesus. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in His ascension into Heaven, and His present life for us as High Priest, Mediator and Advocate (John 20:20; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 7:24-25; I John 2:1)
7. The Blessed Hope. We believe in that blessed hope of the personal and imminent second coming and return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:51-57; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7; 20:4-6)
8. New Birth. We believe that all who receive by faith The Lord Jesus Christ are born of The Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God, a relationship in which we are called to walk in obedience as new creations of God’s making by His grace and not of man’s own works. (John 1:12; John 10:28-30; Romans 8:28-39; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:8-10; Matthew 7:13-28; Titus 3:5; Jude 24)
9. Evidence of New Birth. We believe that through The Spirit, one is born again as a new creation and will show evidence by the fruits of The Spirit. (II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:16-25; Galatians 6:7-10)
10. Evidence of Belief. We believe that a person is “born again” (John 3; Romans 8), when the individual believes the gospel; which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:1-4). Through faith and belief, the individual obeys the gospel by repentance, water baptism in the Name of The Father and of The Son and The Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Name, and the infilling of The Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking with other tongues and walking by The Fruit of the Spirit (Mark 16:15-18, Acts 10:44-46)
11. Baptism. We believe that every believer should be baptized by full immersion as soon as possible following the believer’s acceptance of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, John 3:22; Acts 8:30-35; Acts 10:47-48). Also, the believer is to be baptized in The Spirit by being indwelled by of The Holy Spirit and receive power from on high. (Acts 2:38-39)
12. Priesthood of the Believer. We believe in the Priesthood of the believer, who has access to the Father through Jesus, our High Priest and mediator (I Peter 2:9, John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5-6; Revelation 1:5-7)
13. The Church. We believe that the local church is a body of believers who represent the body of Christ. We are organized for worship, service and fellowship to bring Glory to God. Its two ordinances are baptism and The Lord’s Supper. (By this we understand that the church will provide both baptism and The Lord’s Supper for all believers who desire them). The church shall practice open communion to all those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and accept all believers from other Bible believing churches. Believers should not willingly absent themselves from fellowship. (Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:25; Ephesians 5:23; Matthew 28:19-20; Hebrews 10:25)
14. Tithes and Offerings. We believe that members should bring their tithes and offerings into the church in obedience to God and do so joyfully and in love. (Malachi 3:10-18; II Corinthians 9:7-9 I Corinthians 16:14)
15. God’s Commission. We believe in the commission of The Lord Jesus Christ under the authority of God The Father, to the believer to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of The Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Name, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I Am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38)
16. Resurrection of the Believer. We believe in the “bodily resurrection of the just as well as the unjust; to the everlasting blessedness of the saved, through the acceptance of and obedience to Jesus Christ, by receiving a glorified body that will endure throughout their eternal life, while an everlasting consciousness of punishment to the lost with the experience of eternal damnation for the rejection of Jesus Christ. (Luke16:19-26; John 5:25-29; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelations 21-22)
17. Spiritual Gifts: We believe that God endows a variety of spiritual gifts for the Glorifying of God, for edifying the saints and common good of the entire fellowship (I Corinthians 12:1-7). We believe a person may receive one of more such spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12), but one gift is not to be considered superior or lesser than another. We believe that every believer should exercise their gift that was given by God for the body of Christ. It should be done in the appropriate time and be done in a decent and orderly manner under the direction of The Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 14:40)
18. The Five-Fold Ministry. We believe that the ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesus 4:11:13; I Corinthians 12:25; Ephesians 2:20)
MEET THE PASTOR & FIRST LADY
LOUIS W. BLAND
Pastor
- Louis is a licensed and ordained minister and is the Founder & Pastor of GFCC
- He is a man of faith and is a faithful husband to Teresa Bland. He is a loving father to 3 children; Louis III, Terrence (Antoinette) and Loren Bland & grandfather to 2 grandchildren; Lyric & Amina
- Several years of experience with radio operations and programming gained from 1010AM, 1280AM, Gospelradio1, Gospel740AM & Gospel860AM
- Several years of financial management experience gained through companies like Sonicraft, IFT, Safeway, HDC, LLC & GFCC
- Entrepreneur in the broadcasting industry
- Local Radio Host, concert promoter and music producer
- Master of Ceremonies for major engagements
- Motivational Speaker & Voiceover Artist
TERESA DUKES-BLAND
Co-Pastor & First Lady
Her professional background consists of several years of experience in accounting and financial management. She is a Regional Controller with the Rocky Mountain Region for McDonald’s Corporation’s. She started her professional career as a cost accountant working with H.P. Smith; a division of James River corporation in 1989. Then shortly after that she was sought out by an Executive search firm who recruited her to join with McDonald’s at the Corporate headquarters (Oak Brook, IL), in 1990 as an entry level accountant. She subsequently held a number of progressively accountable positions within the company. In 1997, she was blessed to relocate her family to Phoenix, Ariz., when she accepted a promotion as the Phoenix Regional Controller – a move she acknowledges was all by divine order.
Teresa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1989, and is a certified public accountant, licensed in Illinois since 1992.
