Standing on Cheverly Avenue
Christ Church Inc. sits at 2801 Cheverly Avenue in the town of Cheverly, just outside the District line in Prince George's County, Maryland. From that single address a pastor who was first called to the ministry at fifteen preaches an Apostolic, Pentecostal faith to a congregation that calls itself a family. The church's motto is short and direct: "Winning The World For Christ."
Worship is warm and the Bible is the center of gravity. Members and visitors can expect lively music, illustrated sermons drawn straight from Scripture, and a teaching style that aims to apply the Bible to marriage, family, work, and the streets of the community outside the door.
The Apostolic Pattern of Salvation
Christ Church teaches what it calls an Apostolic faith, a stream of Pentecostal Christianity that holds three doctrines as one package. Salvation begins with repentance, then comes water baptism by full immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and then the baptism of the Holy Ghost, whose initial sign is speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. The teaching points to Acts chapter two and Paul's letters to the Corinthians to support this sequence.
Holiness is the everyday companion to that conversion. Members are taught to present themselves as living sacrifices, to separate from worldliness, and to live clean moral lives, relying on the power of the Holy Ghost to do so. The church distinguishes between the singular gift of the Holy Ghost and the plural gifts of the Spirit. Every believer, it teaches, receives the Holy Ghost; the Spirit then distributes gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and interpretation to individuals as He wills.
New converts are taught to be "born again" of water and of the Spirit, and the baptismal waters are entered in the name of Jesus Christ alone.
Bishop Ronald A. Frazier and the Leadership Family
The pastor is Bishop Ronald A. Frazier, founder of Christ Church, Way of the Cross Inc. He was called to preach on June 7, 1974, when he was fifteen years old, and has since earned a Bachelor's in Religious Education from Valley Forge Christian College, a Master's from International Seminary, and a doctorate in ministry from Logos Graduate School. He has served as Principal of Holy Temple Christian Academy, Dean of the Apostolic Christian College, and General Secretary of the Way of the Cross Church of Christ International, and he is also an educator in the Prince George's County public schools.
From the pulpit his preaching focuses on restoration, reconciliation, and healing, and his messages are punctuated with praise, worship, and spontaneous dancing. He and his wife, Missionary Allison Scott-Frazier, lead the church together. The leadership team around them includes Minister Michael Freeman, Deacons Thomas Valentine, Kevin Moore, William Harris, and Ernest Hudson, and a sisterhood of missionaries: Eutha Mitchell, Ella Harris, Glenda Henry, Tilunda Johnson, Gwendolyn Ross, and Patricia Wright. Brother James Ewings rounds out the published leadership.
A Week Built Around Prayer
The weekly rhythm of Christ Church keeps prayer at the center. Sunday morning worship begins at eleven o'clock, and the service is also broadcast on Zoom so members who cannot attend in person can join remotely.
Monday evenings at seven o'clock the church gathers for a prayer service, again by Zoom. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, a fifteen-minute prayer conference call opens the day at six o'clock. Dial-in is by phone through (712) 775-7031 with access code 620674#, the same number each morning.
Thursday evenings at seven o'clock is Bible study, hosted on the same Zoom link as the prayer service and Sunday morning worship. Visitors who want to join online can use meeting ID 371 224 4297 with passcode 466850.
Three Choirs and a Sunday Sound
Music is a centerpiece of Sunday morning. The music ministry includes three choirs. The Praise and Worship Team opens the service and leads the congregation in song. The CCI Gospel Ensemble, which traces its first rehearsal to the first Sunday of March 1999, treats singing as a ministry rather than a duty and often travels with the pastor to outside engagements. The 4Cs, the Christ Church Children's Choir, gathers the youngest voices in the church, from age one through thirteen, to glorify God together.
Behind the singers sits a core band of keyboardist, drummer, and bass guitarist, all of whom play to the honor and glory of God.
Greeters, Ushers, and the Front Porch of the Church
The Hospitality Ministry is the face of the church on a Sunday morning. Members stand at the door to welcome every visitor with a handshake and an honest smile, give a brief welcome address from the front of the sanctuary, and hand each newcomer a personalized gift bag with church information, Christian tracks, and a CD of the Sunday sermon.
Just behind them the Usher Board keeps the service moving. Ushers prepare the sanctuary, set the temperature, hand out programs, direct worshipers to seats, pass the collection plate, and stand guard at the door during altar call so the Spirit can move without interruption.
Children, Women, Men, and a 12-Week On-Ramp
The Children's Ministry seeks to lay a biblical foundation that will nurture children toward spiritual maturity and servant leadership. Activities include crafts, skits, storytelling, movies, and puppetry, all aimed at teaching kids how to pray, build healthy relationships, and trust God's plan for their lives.
The Women's Ministry calls itself a sisterhood that ministers to women in every season of life, married or single, first-time mom or empty nester, stay-at-home or career. It hosts book discussions, social teas, life-issue studies, women's retreats, and Mother's Day outings. The Men's Ministry is a brotherhood committed to uplifting and affirming one another in the walk with Christ.
Newcomers who want to make Christ Church their church home are paired with a member of the New Members' Ministry for at least three months of prayer and guidance. Together they work through a twelve-week course that covers the structure of Christ Church, the meaning of being Apostolic, water baptism, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the purpose of the church and the family, prayer, fasting, tithing, repentance, daily devotions, stewardship, holy communion, and testimony. Each lesson carries a memory verse, and new members are encouraged to read the four Gospels over four months.
Cuts for Christ and a Gospel that Goes Out
The Outreach Ministry keeps the church in the neighborhood. Brother Steven Atkins gives free haircuts on the first and third Monday of each month from four o'clock to a quarter to seven in the evening through a program called Cuts for Christ. Through the Hospitality Ministry the church also collects food, toys, clothing, and money for those in need. Bishop Frazier has long had a ministry among the homeless, the imprisoned, and those struggling with addiction, and the church hosts both a Prison Ministry and a Community Outreach arm as part of its twelve active ministries.
A Podcast, a YouTube Channel, and an Online Pulpit
The Media Ministry keeps the church's voice online. Bishop Frazier preaches a weekly podcast called Winning The World for Christ, with episodes that explore themes from the Prodigal Son, the Pentecost, the cost of discipleship, and the prayers of mothers. A video archive on YouTube includes a Bible Study series recorded in January 2016, and the church is active on Facebook, Instagram, and X under the handle christchurchinc.
Giving to the ministry is available online at razmobile.com/ccinc.