Who We Are
Christ Temple Apostolic Church of Hopkinsville, Kentucky was established on February 18, 2001, by the late Elder Grover W. Johnson, Sr. Elder Johnson was inspired by God to start a church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He tried to come up with a name for the new work, but eventually settled on naming it after the mother church, Christ Temple in Louisville, Kentucky.
Elder Johnson made many trips to Hopkinsville, Kentucky (along with other ministers from the mother church) to look for a building to rent or purchase for a house of worship. On December 15, 2000, a former beauty shop/ craft store at 1819 Walnut Street was purchased from Lucille Martin by Elder Grover Johnson. This is now our present location.
Ms. Martin explained to Elder Johnson that he did not have to worry about the foundation cracking because the building is standing over a large solid rock. We never worried about the building because Jesus is our Rock. The day of closing, Elder Johnson proclaimed that, “I am a builder, I may not be here to see the building finished, but I must start the work of the Lord’s church in this vineyard.
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Renovations began on the building in January 2001. Elder Grover Johnson, along with his brother-in-law, Elder Fred Washington worked on weekends to convert the storefront into a place of worship. The initial changes were made as God gave Elder Washington the knowledge of what to do. The furniture, organ, piano, were generously donated to us from other churches in Louisville, Kentucky.
On February 18, 2001 the first sermon at Christ Temple Apostolic Church was preached by Pastor Grover W. Johnson, Sr.
Our mother church, Christ Temple Christian Life Center in Louisville, Kentucky continues to be our greatest supporter. The church, under the leadership of Bishop Michael E. Ford, Sr., provided us with saints to participate in the weekly services for the first six (6) months until the influx of members and new converts started to attend.
Additionally, the late Bishop D. Rayford Bell supported this ministry by allocating funds from the PCAF Church Planting program under the PCAF Missions Department to assist the church with mortgage payments for the first six (6) months as well. Pastor Johnnie Leonard, and the late Elder Theodore Allen were instrumental in ensuring that the church had an adequate baptism pool.
During the illness of Elder Grover Johnson, the church continued to flourish. The Christ Temple Christian Life Center in Louisville, Kentucky rallied around us and kept the ministry moving forward. During this period, Elder Victor L. Greene, Sr., a recent member, returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq. Elder Greene instituted Monday night prayer service and took on the responsibility of teaching Wednesday night Bible studies, as well as revamping the Sunday morning worship services. In 2006, Elder Grover Johnson felt led by God to appoint Elder Victor L. Greene as the assistant pastor of Christ Temple Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Oftentimes, when the shepherd is stricken with a terminal illness, the sheep scatter. However, with God’s help, our church continued to grow. Elder Grover Johnson passed away on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. His homegoing service was held on December 1, 2008 at Christ Temple in Louisville, Kentucky.
Elder Victor L. Greene, Sr., was installed as pastor of Christ Temple of Hopkinsville, Kentucky on January 31, 2009. Under his leadership and vision, the church continued to advance. Unfortunately, in 2019, the pulpit of Christ Temple Apostolic Church became vacant once again.
Pursuant to this, in November 2019, Bishop Dr. Michael E. Ford, Sr., asked District Elder Melvyn Y. Little, Jr., to pray about and consider becoming the pastor of Christ Temple Church of Hopkinsville. After much prayer and consideration with Lady Gail Little, District Elder Melvyn Little consented to assume the pastorate of Christ Temple Apostolic Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The saints of the newly named Christ Temple Christian Life Center of Hopkinsville, Kentucky are thrilled about the leadership of their new pastor and first lady. They believe God has great things in store for Christ Temple under his guidance.
This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:23