St. Luke Baptist Church History
The year was 1927; Calvin Coolidge was president, the average annual salary was $2,474.00, gasoline was .122 cents per gallon, bread .12 cents a loaf, the song "Ole Man River" was heard for the first time, and the talking movie was invented. The city of Paterson was known as the silk city of the world because of the many factories here that produced silk products. At this time, Paterson was populated by people of various ethnicities and cultures. Into this diverse and rich culture came the first wave of blacks who migrated from the rural areas of the south to the industrial north.
In this same year the St. Luke Baptist Church of Paterson, NJ was organized by a band of eight believers whose common faith in God brought them together to organize a mission where they could worship God and live out the tenets of their faith. After meeting in several locations over a short period of time, these believers secured a place to worship and met faithfully in a small building located on what was then Lane Street (in the vicinity of what is now Presidential Boulevard and Clinton Streets). In March of 1928, this mission was officially recognized by the New Hope Baptist Association, set apart, and named the St. Luke Baptist Church.
Following the Lane Street location, the small but faithful congregants moved to 144 Lawrence Place, a building they rented from the Calvary Baptist Church. As was a common practice of this day, in her early years St. Luke was led by many distinguished Pastors who served the church for short periods of time, they were; the Rev. J. B. Robinson, the Rev. W. H. Culbreath, the Rev. John Tuck, and the Rev. Weldon McWilliams. Though brief in their tenure, they all faithfully served the church, and were all forerunners to the giant that was yet to come. He, would lead the church to unknown heights.
In 1935, following Rev. McWilliams’ leadership, the St. Luke Church extended the call of leadership to the Rev. Albert Moses Tyler, who at the time was serving as an Associate Minister at the New Christian Missionary Baptist Church of Paterson. After one year he was officially called to serve as Pastor. The 62 year pastoral ministry of Dr. Albert M. Tyler was a period of significant progression, transformation, and development for the St. Luke Church.
At Pastor Tyler’s arrival, the church membership consisted of a small band of believers, and the place of worship and many other contents were being rented. Pastor Tyler, armed with vision, persistence and a charming personality immediately sought to build the church through preaching, teaching, and his immensely popular singing voice, that had gained him popularity as a member of the Royal Light Gospel Singers.
From the onset of his ministry, it was clear that God had ordained this union of pastor and people. Immediately, under Dr. Tyler’s leadership, the church began to grow. As a result of this physical growth, the building that was being rented from Calvary was eventually purchased by St. Luke in 1939 and St Luke now had a permanent place of worship as their own. Many repairs and improvements were made to this building to make it a suitable house of worship. In addition, as the membership began to grow, many clubs and auxiliaries were established to help promote fellowship and Christian service.
In its’ Lawrence Place home, St. Luke, led by Pastor Tyler experienced tremendous growth. To the extent that the congregation soon outgrew this place of worship and began looking for a new building.
In 1948 Pastor Tyler found and led the congregation into the purchase of what would become their new place of worship, located at 187-189 Pearl Street. In 1949 the first church parsonage was purchased.
As was true on Lawrence Place, as our church family continued to grow and the needs of our congregation became more diverse, our Pearl Street home also underwent many necessary repairs and improvements, until again the congregation outgrew these facilities. It was also during the "Pearl Street Years" that the church purchased her first bus which was used to provide transportation to members to and from services.
The years spent on Pearl Street saw continued growth in the membership. It was also during these years, that Pastor Tyler became an organizer and first Moderator of the Shiloh Baptist Association of NJ, of which we are still a vital part.
The decade of the 60’s was one of turmoil and change. Our country was being stirred by civil rights activities that eventually changed the landscape of our nation, and wars in foreign lands, particularly Vietnam would place citizens of the world on constant edge. In Paterson, as in many large urban centers, minorities became an increasing presence, as whites left the cities for the suburbs. This "white flight" caused for significant changes in areas that were once heavily populated by whites.
By 1960, St. Luke had outgrown the Pearl Street location and was once again looking for a larger more suitable place of worship. Pastor Tyler discovered a building located at 139 Carroll Street, the former Trinity Methodist Church. This building had suffered significant damage by fire, but with keen foresight Pastor Tyler negotiated a purchase price of $40,000.00 and set about the task of renovating the building; doing much of the work himself. This building complex consisted of a 700 seat sanctuary, an overflow area to accommodate additional worshipers, a chapel, a fellowship hall that seats 300, classrooms, and office space. In addition to the church building, the purchase included an additional house and a Multi-Purpose Building (265 Fair Street). At the time of this purchase, St. Luke occupied the largest and most complete church quarters of any black congregation in Passaic County.
In July of 1962, amidst great excitement and enthusiasm Pastor Tyler proudly led the St. Luke congregation into their new home.
The ministry of St. Luke continued to thrive and flourish in its` Carroll Street location. Each year saw a continued growth of the church spiritually, physically, and financially. While always keeping the spiritual focus at the forefront, Pastor Tyler also remained active in community and civic affairs.
In the 1960’s when prayer was taken out of schools, he opened up the church and prepared breakfast for neighborhood children and taught them the Bible. His love for the youth of St. Luke led him to establish the A. M. Tyler Scholarship Fund with five thousand dollars of his personal money. He also led St. Luke to become active supporters of home and foreign efforts through the respective boards of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. It was also under his leadership that we became supporters of other worthy benevolent causes.
Pastor Tyler was indeed a man whose vision and foresight made him a leader ahead of his time. He led St. Luke into the arena of economic development and independence through the purchase of properties and enterprises that would benefit the church and ensure her economic solvency, namely the professional building located at 305 Broadway, and later two other rental properties.
As was the case in our previous places of worship, the present property has undergone numerous renovations, repairs, and physical upgrades to ensure that God’s house is maintained properly. In the mid 1980’s two additional lots were purchased to provide off street parking for the membership and the administrative wing of the church was renovated and modernized. New groups and clubs were continually added to provide opportunities for fellowship among the disciples of the church.
In 1985, Carroll Street was renamed A. M. Tyler Place, by Mayor Frank X. Graves and the Paterson City Council to honor Pastor Tyler’s fiftieth year of pastoral service, thus making him the first African American in our city to receive this honor.
In 1996, Pastor Tyler recommended to the church that they call an Assistant Pastor to serve both he and the congregation. The congregation agreed, and allowed him to select the person he felt was most suitable to share with him the pastoral leadership of the church and possibly succeed him as the next pastor of St. Luke.
In 1997, the call was extended to the Rev. Kenneth D. R. Clayton, a Paterson native, who at the time was serving as the Assistant Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church of Garfield, NJ. Rev. Clayton began his service to St. Luke as Assistant Pastor on March 30, (Easter Sunday) 1997.
On Saturday, April 26, 1997 after a brief illness, the Rev. Dr. Albert M. Tyler passed from labor to reward, at the age of 94, and after having served as Pastor of St. Luke for 62 years. On Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1, 1997 the St. Luke Church, the city of Paterson, and people from across the state and nation gathered to pay their final respects to this giant who walked among us.
At Pastor Tyler’s death, Rev. Clayton was named Acting pastor, during the six month period of mourning. During this time he carried on all of the regular Pastoral responsibilities, and on Wednesday, October 22, 1997 the church unanimously agreed to extend the call as Pastor. In November of 1997 he was officially installed as pastor, and the St. Luke Church welcomed it’s new under shepherd and his family.
Under Pastor Clayton’s leadership, our church has experienced tremendous growth in all areas of our church’s ministry. Many new classes, ministries, and service opportunities have been implemented for children, youth, and adults.
We now operate as "A Church Determined to Know Christ and Make Him Known," and our seven ministry concept has been implemented to give organizational structure to our church and her ministry as we pursue our ministry goals of worship, discipleship, fellowship, outreach, and service. Under Pastor Clayton’s leadership our church is experiencing growth at every level as we apply these biblical principles to every aspect of the life or our congregation.
The result of our growth is that we now worship at two morning worship services, 7:30am and 10:30am; our discipleship and operating budget has tripled; a competent and professional staff has been hired to assist the pastor in working with and on behalf of the congregation.
Pastor Clayton has challenged our congregation to move our ministry outside of the walls of our church building into our local community and even into the world. Under his leadership our church now operates CHRISTHOUSE, a church sponsored Food and Clothing Center that provides free clothes and food to area residents, and a Christian based recovery support group, "Reaching for Freedom." Our outreach missions’ support has enabled to positively affect the lives of men and women in our local community and even throughout the world. Under his leadership we have organized the St. Luke community Development Corporation as a vehicle to help redevelop and revitalize the fourth ward community where our church resides.
Continuing in the legacy of Dr. Tyler, Pastor Clayton has led us in the development of A. M. Tyler Enterprises a for profit entity that operates our rental property. This entity we named after Pastor Tyler to forever perpetuate his memory. In 2001, the St. Luke Bookstore was opened and serves our congregation by providing Christian books and literature to disciples of our church and community.
In this same year the St. Luke Baptist Church of Paterson, NJ was organized by a band of eight believers whose common faith in God brought them together to organize a mission where they could worship God and live out the tenets of their faith. After meeting in several locations over a short period of time, these believers secured a place to worship and met faithfully in a small building located on what was then Lane Street (in the vicinity of what is now Presidential Boulevard and Clinton Streets). In March of 1928, this mission was officially recognized by the New Hope Baptist Association, set apart, and named the St. Luke Baptist Church.
Following the Lane Street location, the small but faithful congregants moved to 144 Lawrence Place, a building they rented from the Calvary Baptist Church. As was a common practice of this day, in her early years St. Luke was led by many distinguished Pastors who served the church for short periods of time, they were; the Rev. J. B. Robinson, the Rev. W. H. Culbreath, the Rev. John Tuck, and the Rev. Weldon McWilliams. Though brief in their tenure, they all faithfully served the church, and were all forerunners to the giant that was yet to come. He, would lead the church to unknown heights.
In 1935, following Rev. McWilliams’ leadership, the St. Luke Church extended the call of leadership to the Rev. Albert Moses Tyler, who at the time was serving as an Associate Minister at the New Christian Missionary Baptist Church of Paterson. After one year he was officially called to serve as Pastor. The 62 year pastoral ministry of Dr. Albert M. Tyler was a period of significant progression, transformation, and development for the St. Luke Church.
At Pastor Tyler’s arrival, the church membership consisted of a small band of believers, and the place of worship and many other contents were being rented. Pastor Tyler, armed with vision, persistence and a charming personality immediately sought to build the church through preaching, teaching, and his immensely popular singing voice, that had gained him popularity as a member of the Royal Light Gospel Singers.
From the onset of his ministry, it was clear that God had ordained this union of pastor and people. Immediately, under Dr. Tyler’s leadership, the church began to grow. As a result of this physical growth, the building that was being rented from Calvary was eventually purchased by St. Luke in 1939 and St Luke now had a permanent place of worship as their own. Many repairs and improvements were made to this building to make it a suitable house of worship. In addition, as the membership began to grow, many clubs and auxiliaries were established to help promote fellowship and Christian service.
In its’ Lawrence Place home, St. Luke, led by Pastor Tyler experienced tremendous growth. To the extent that the congregation soon outgrew this place of worship and began looking for a new building.
In 1948 Pastor Tyler found and led the congregation into the purchase of what would become their new place of worship, located at 187-189 Pearl Street. In 1949 the first church parsonage was purchased.
As was true on Lawrence Place, as our church family continued to grow and the needs of our congregation became more diverse, our Pearl Street home also underwent many necessary repairs and improvements, until again the congregation outgrew these facilities. It was also during the "Pearl Street Years" that the church purchased her first bus which was used to provide transportation to members to and from services.
The years spent on Pearl Street saw continued growth in the membership. It was also during these years, that Pastor Tyler became an organizer and first Moderator of the Shiloh Baptist Association of NJ, of which we are still a vital part.
The decade of the 60’s was one of turmoil and change. Our country was being stirred by civil rights activities that eventually changed the landscape of our nation, and wars in foreign lands, particularly Vietnam would place citizens of the world on constant edge. In Paterson, as in many large urban centers, minorities became an increasing presence, as whites left the cities for the suburbs. This "white flight" caused for significant changes in areas that were once heavily populated by whites.
By 1960, St. Luke had outgrown the Pearl Street location and was once again looking for a larger more suitable place of worship. Pastor Tyler discovered a building located at 139 Carroll Street, the former Trinity Methodist Church. This building had suffered significant damage by fire, but with keen foresight Pastor Tyler negotiated a purchase price of $40,000.00 and set about the task of renovating the building; doing much of the work himself. This building complex consisted of a 700 seat sanctuary, an overflow area to accommodate additional worshipers, a chapel, a fellowship hall that seats 300, classrooms, and office space. In addition to the church building, the purchase included an additional house and a Multi-Purpose Building (265 Fair Street). At the time of this purchase, St. Luke occupied the largest and most complete church quarters of any black congregation in Passaic County.
In July of 1962, amidst great excitement and enthusiasm Pastor Tyler proudly led the St. Luke congregation into their new home.
The ministry of St. Luke continued to thrive and flourish in its` Carroll Street location. Each year saw a continued growth of the church spiritually, physically, and financially. While always keeping the spiritual focus at the forefront, Pastor Tyler also remained active in community and civic affairs.
In the 1960’s when prayer was taken out of schools, he opened up the church and prepared breakfast for neighborhood children and taught them the Bible. His love for the youth of St. Luke led him to establish the A. M. Tyler Scholarship Fund with five thousand dollars of his personal money. He also led St. Luke to become active supporters of home and foreign efforts through the respective boards of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. It was also under his leadership that we became supporters of other worthy benevolent causes.
Pastor Tyler was indeed a man whose vision and foresight made him a leader ahead of his time. He led St. Luke into the arena of economic development and independence through the purchase of properties and enterprises that would benefit the church and ensure her economic solvency, namely the professional building located at 305 Broadway, and later two other rental properties.
As was the case in our previous places of worship, the present property has undergone numerous renovations, repairs, and physical upgrades to ensure that God’s house is maintained properly. In the mid 1980’s two additional lots were purchased to provide off street parking for the membership and the administrative wing of the church was renovated and modernized. New groups and clubs were continually added to provide opportunities for fellowship among the disciples of the church.
In 1985, Carroll Street was renamed A. M. Tyler Place, by Mayor Frank X. Graves and the Paterson City Council to honor Pastor Tyler’s fiftieth year of pastoral service, thus making him the first African American in our city to receive this honor.
In 1996, Pastor Tyler recommended to the church that they call an Assistant Pastor to serve both he and the congregation. The congregation agreed, and allowed him to select the person he felt was most suitable to share with him the pastoral leadership of the church and possibly succeed him as the next pastor of St. Luke.
In 1997, the call was extended to the Rev. Kenneth D. R. Clayton, a Paterson native, who at the time was serving as the Assistant Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church of Garfield, NJ. Rev. Clayton began his service to St. Luke as Assistant Pastor on March 30, (Easter Sunday) 1997.
On Saturday, April 26, 1997 after a brief illness, the Rev. Dr. Albert M. Tyler passed from labor to reward, at the age of 94, and after having served as Pastor of St. Luke for 62 years. On Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1, 1997 the St. Luke Church, the city of Paterson, and people from across the state and nation gathered to pay their final respects to this giant who walked among us.
At Pastor Tyler’s death, Rev. Clayton was named Acting pastor, during the six month period of mourning. During this time he carried on all of the regular Pastoral responsibilities, and on Wednesday, October 22, 1997 the church unanimously agreed to extend the call as Pastor. In November of 1997 he was officially installed as pastor, and the St. Luke Church welcomed it’s new under shepherd and his family.
Under Pastor Clayton’s leadership, our church has experienced tremendous growth in all areas of our church’s ministry. Many new classes, ministries, and service opportunities have been implemented for children, youth, and adults.
We now operate as "A Church Determined to Know Christ and Make Him Known," and our seven ministry concept has been implemented to give organizational structure to our church and her ministry as we pursue our ministry goals of worship, discipleship, fellowship, outreach, and service. Under Pastor Clayton’s leadership our church is experiencing growth at every level as we apply these biblical principles to every aspect of the life or our congregation.
The result of our growth is that we now worship at two morning worship services, 7:30am and 10:30am; our discipleship and operating budget has tripled; a competent and professional staff has been hired to assist the pastor in working with and on behalf of the congregation.
Pastor Clayton has challenged our congregation to move our ministry outside of the walls of our church building into our local community and even into the world. Under his leadership our church now operates CHRISTHOUSE, a church sponsored Food and Clothing Center that provides free clothes and food to area residents, and a Christian based recovery support group, "Reaching for Freedom." Our outreach missions’ support has enabled to positively affect the lives of men and women in our local community and even throughout the world. Under his leadership we have organized the St. Luke community Development Corporation as a vehicle to help redevelop and revitalize the fourth ward community where our church resides.
Continuing in the legacy of Dr. Tyler, Pastor Clayton has led us in the development of A. M. Tyler Enterprises a for profit entity that operates our rental property. This entity we named after Pastor Tyler to forever perpetuate his memory. In 2001, the St. Luke Bookstore was opened and serves our congregation by providing Christian books and literature to disciples of our church and community.