God predetermined that Mt. Gethsemane Holiness Church (MGHC) be a part of the community on Ponds Wood Road in Huntingtown, Maryland.  He orchestrated events that brought Mother Louise Moore and Elder Caroll Spriggs together to discuss the future of the then-Mt. Gethsemane Baptist Church (MGBC) that was under the leadership of the late Bishop James R. Jones, the Pastor of the Community Church of Christ in Baltimore, Maryland.  A meeting was held with several spiritual leaders and Mother Moore.

 

After much prayer by all involved asking that God’s will be done, a decision was made to ask Elder Robert D. Watts to become the pastor.  Although she supported the choice, Mother Moore, a wise and thoughtful woman, wanted the final decision to be made by Bishop Jones.

           

On November 2, 1995, Bishop Jones, Deacon Luther Moore also of the Community Church of Christ, Elder Watts, Elder Spriggs, Deacon Terry Plater, Brothers Irving Cook, Alfred Jefferson, and Clarence Mackall met to discuss the future of the MGBC. During the meeting, Bishop Jones felt led by the Spirit of God to turn the leadership of the church over to Elder Watts.  MGBC became MGHC. 

 

The doors of MGHC opened on December 3, 1995, with twenty-seven members and a host of family and friends.  Three years later on September 19, 1998, we burned the church mortgage. To God Be the Glory!

           

On March 13, 2007, after weeks of preparation of the building site, construction began on the new MGHC.  While the church was being built, Sunday services were held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Prince Frederick, Maryland.  The new brick structure, primarily a worship space capable of seating 280, was completed in time to commemorate MGHC and the Pastor’s 12th Anniversary.

 

God continued to bless the Church and Pastor by adding ministers, deacons, missionaries, choirs and other auxiliaries to assist Bishop Watts.  His wife, our beloved Church Mother, Betty Watts stood by his side, encouraging and assisting him as he continued to preach the Word of God. She worked tirelessly starting a coat drive ministry, founding the Senior Choir, and the Usher Board.  In 1996, she established a college scholarship fund to support our youth.  In 2019, the Scholarship Fund was named “The Betty Watts Scholarship Fund” and continues to support our youth.  Our hearts were broken when God called her home on November 14, 2014, as He did some of our forerunners.   

 

God continues to add to the MGHC family as we endeavor to do His will. Today, MGHC continues to stand as a beacon of Christian hope, love, and charity as we spread the good news of God’s love.  To God be the glory for the great things He is doing!