The Kingdom of God Evangelistic Outreach Ministry, now doing business as The Kingdom of God International Ministry, was initially conceived by our Senior Pastor, Dr. Warren L. Henry, Sr. in 1975. The basic premise as conceived by Dr. Henry was to establish a teaching ministry based on the two concepts taught and preached by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; namely, the Present Kingdom and the Social Gospel and the Future Kingdom and Personal Salvation. Though Dr. Henry always focused on this concept, he deferred the actual conceptualization until 1992.

 

From 1975 until 1992, Dr. Henry pastored in a number of churches under the United Methodist Denomination. Continuing to be plagued with the call and desire of establishing this ministry, after 17 years he was guided by the right hand of God's righteousness to walk out on faith and depart from the United Methodist Denomination to begin laying the foundation. With a few believers gathered together, the ministry's concept began to become a reality.

 

Feeling very strongly about the physical location of this ministry, he along with his wife, Sharon Henry, Henry Dodson, Lee Haney, Barbara Brown, Mildred Houston, Reginald Lowe, Joseph McFadden, Rhonda Benton, Sandra Golden, Stephen Henry, Gerald and Marie Holland, Emory and Carolyn Brown, Lloyd and Naomi Robinson and children of these families, began to pursue a location. The initial site was to be in Gwinnett County. Being led by the Holy Spirit, this site proved not to be right for the vision given by God to Dr. Henry. Thus, the core group continued to search. After much praying, discussion and searching, on September 15, 1992, Lee Haney offered Busy Bodies Fitness Center located in College Park, Georgia as a temporary site for worship. The first Sunday worship service was scheduled for September 21, 1992 at that location. What an appropriate name for this group to be housed, for indeed we were "busy bodies" for Christ setting out on a mission and that mission was to get behind our Pastor and find a home. There was much work to do.

 

Being led and guided by the Holy Spirit, Dr. Henry began to teach and preach the purpose of the ministry to those believers who had been in attendance from September 21, 1992 through October 19, 1992. As the doors of the ministry were opened for Christian discipleship, sixty-three people in attendance entered into and accepted the covenant of the ministry. This date is significant in that it represents the official establishment of the ministry and the designation of Covenant Sunday.

 

Knowing that this location was very short term, the ministry was blessed to be offered a home at 4601 Welcome All Road. This was through the generous efforts and administration of Rich Dunston and Janet Dillinger of Cardinal Realities and the entire Cardinal Realities family. (Being an ecumenical ministry, we did not fail to catch the irony of God having placed our "busy bodies" on Welcome All Road, welcoming all to come worship and praise God with us.)

 

From the first Sunday in November 1992 until June 21, 1993, the ministry flourished in its new home. The teachings were being put into action by setting the stage for many of the outreach ministries initially conceived by Dr. Henry. But this location was not permanent either and the news that negotiations on the property were in the final stages came as no surprise.