History of the Apostolic Gospel Church of Mt. Sterling

Founding Pastor Jack Downey and his wife Phyllis

Rev. Jack Downey, a minister, evangelist, and pastor for over 50 years, resided in the Mt. Sterling area for several years and felt the calling of God to start a church in Mt. Sterling in 1987. Following God's calling, he asked the American Legion to rent the Legion Hall on Sundays. The amount was too expensive for him to pay from his own pocket each week, so he asked about renting the foyer of the American Legion building. The price was affordable, so he accepted the rental. The first service was in February of 1987. At their first service, there were eleven people present, Pastor Downey and his wife and some friends, family and supporters. The second service, there were two people present. Jack Downey and his wife Phyllis. He said, "She sang to me and I preached to her."
They remained at the Legion foyer for a few months and passed by a storefront at 28 S. London St. and decided to rent it. He, along with some friends, remodeled the location to make it suitable for church services.  The church quickly began to grow with those that were searching for a spiritual church and those that were in need. They remained in that location until 1991 when Pastor Downey saw a "for rent" sign at a building at 28 E. Main St. He, with the board of trustees, contacted Sonny Emrich and decided to lease the building on a five-year lease. Shortly after the building was converted to a church building, the congregation relocated to their new location, and the storefront building at 28 S. London St. unfortunately burned to the ground.  

God blessed the services at this new location and much outreach was done while there. They decided to do Summer monthly Gospel Sings at the gazebo, with full cooperation with village officials. These were greatly successful. People that came to the Apostolic Gospel Church soon gave the church a nickname, "The Hospital Church," because there was so much spiritual and physical healing that occurred there. There was much prayer and fasting for growth and help in Mt. Sterling. And it still continues today.  After the five-year lease, Mr. Emrich offered to sell the building and it was decided by the congregation to purchase it. They took out a fifteen-year mortgage on the building. Due to the generous giving of the members, the building was paid off in 5 ½ years. They also constructed an addition to the church for extra space for more Sunday School and functions. The church also decided to start a puppet ministry for the church and also traveled with their award winning puppet team. With a combination team of the Apostolic Church of Mt. Sterling and the Grove City Apostolic Church, the youth "quiz team" won the National Biblical Quiz Award presented by the United Pentecostal Church, International.   God continued blessing the church both financially and spiritually.

After years of pastoring and ministering in other locations, Jack felt the urging of God that it was time to retire from being pastor of the church. His age and long dedication was starting to wear on him. God had a plan for further growth that youth could bring. After much prayer, he did finally decide to resign as pastor.  There was unmistakably one person that could take Reverend Downey's place as pastor. It was the first person God placed in his mind. This minister had preached his first revival at Mt. Sterling with wonderful results and was a regular guest minister that the church loved dearly. His name is Reverend Darrell Kelly, who was then the Assistant Pastor of the Grove City Apostolic Church. In September 2003, the church had an open meeting and voted in Reverend Kelly unanimously.
Next Page