A Brief History of Phillips Temple

Where We Have Been

In 1915, the church later to become Phillips Temple was conceived at a prayer meeting in the house of Mother Alice Bridges. After much prayer and effort, the Scott Street CME church held its first service on Mother’s Day 1917, in a Wesleyan Church that was subleased for $1.50 per month. 

In 1924, the first CME church was built on Scott Street.  However, the dynamic preaching and the grace of God caused the church to outgrow this facility in three years.  In 1927, a new facility was erected, and the renamed Trinity CME church opened its doors at Broadway and Germantown.  The church, which would later be renamed Phillips Temple would call this location home until for over 40 years until, a 30,000 sq foot facility was built at the corner of Germantown and Stewart under the leadership of Marshal Gilmore.  The Germantown Campus, which was built for $500,000 served as a pillar in the community and the CME connection for The Phillips Temple CME Church for nearly 35 years.

In 1994, Phillips entered a new era of ministry with the appointment of James Washington as its (13th?) senior pastor.  Ministry under the leadership of Rev. Washington has been defined by the priority of Biblical Preaching, clarity of vision, a commitment to children and youth, and a multi-phase expansion campaign to accommodate the growth from God.   In 1998, Phillips committed itself to a four-fold mission of

Worshiping God,

Working with One Another

Witnessing to the World

Welcoming all people.

Phillips Temple recognized to be a church of the future, we had to be a church about future generations.  In 1999, Phillips began our first campaign with enough money to purchase 84 acres in Trotwood, literally tons of steel and establish a relationship with the McKnight group.  A second and third campaign raised enough money to make the down payment and move into our present facility in the Summer of 2005.    

Work With One Another

It is estimated that nearly 300 people per weekend serve in one of our Six Key Ministry Areas that include: Worship, First Impressions, Children and Youth, Administration, Media and Outreach.  By making ministry simple, easy to get involved in and aligned toward our mission, each member has a part to play in the vision of the church while using their individual spiritual gift.  We don’t have volunteers; we have servants who serve one another while serving the Lord.

Witness to the World

Phillips is continually striving to be an outward focused church.  On Saturday morning, a group of dedicated people literally knock on hundreds of doors in many of our most challenging neighborhoods of the city to invite children to be part of our His Kids ministry.  Our website has been visited by people from sixteen different countries, and our sermons are streamed throughout the world.  We have recently sent missions teams to Kenya, Guatemala, Ghana, Mexico, Haiti, and El Salvador. However, we consider our biggest mission field to be the hundreds to students each week who attend Phillips but have yet to be converted.  Since 2000, over 700 people have been baptized.    

Welcome All People

Almost without exception, when people are asked why they join Phillips, the first responses in order are preaching, worship and they way they were welcomed.  Our first impressions team is committed to making sure that Phillips Temple is the best place on a weekend to get a nice smile, a warm hug and a hot cup of Boston Stoker coffee.  The emphasis of Christ and the relevancy of our ministry attract people of all different age, income, racial and denominational backgrounds.  In fact, since 2000 alone, over 1400 people have joined Phillips Temple.