Church History
A Look at How Far We Have Come
IN THE BEGINNING
The New Covenant Baptist Church of Orlando (NCBC) was a dream in the minds and hearts of Doctors Randolph and LaVon W. Bracy in the late eighties. The dream was made manifest in 1992 when the Lord made it clear what He wanted them to do. The Bracys stepped out on faith and followed the Holy Spirit’s direction and began planning to plant a church.
ORGANIZED: On August 19, 1992, the New Covenant Baptist Church was organized and Reverend and Mrs. Bracy were recognized as founders, and Reverend Bracy was called as Pastor. Two hundred eighty-nine (289) persons verbalized their fidelity, took an oath, and pledged their support as members of the New Covenant Baptist Church of Orlando. The people prayed. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)
FIRST SERVICE: On Sunday, August 23, 1992, the first, official service of the New Covenant Baptist Church took place at the Winter Park Civic Center. More than four hundred were in attendance. The pastor’s first sermon was “Where Do We Go from Here?” “We were walking by faith following God’s lead” said Rev. Bracy.
LEADERS SELECTED: Leaders were selected for the following ministries: Youth Pastor; Diaconate Chairman; Sunday School Superintendent;
Minister of Music;
Budget Ministry; Trustee Ministry; Finance Ministry; Ushers’ Ministry; Nurses’ Ministry; Minister of Evangelism; New Members; Young Adults; Historian; Church Treasurer; Videographer; Fitness/Aerobics Ministry and Financial Secretary.
CO-EDUCATIONAL DIACONATE MINISTRY: The first Diaconate ordination service was held on January 24, 1993, at the Ramada Inn on International Drive. At that time, seventeen (17) women and two men were ordained.
FIRST EMPLOYEE: The first church employee was Mrs. Gloria Houston Lovell. She served as the Administrative Assistant, and was very instrumental in organizing the management of the office. She served faithfully for twelve years. She was also the founder of the Young Adult Ministry.
FIRST WORSHIP SITE: During our formative years (1992-1995) the worship services were held each Sunday at the Winter Park Civic Center located in Winter Park, Florida.
HOUR OF POWER: Moving from place to place during the week, Pastor Bracy instituted what is known as our Wednesday midweek noon-day service, Hour of Prayer. On Wednesday nights, the adults would have corporate Bible Study at one facility, while the youth were at another.
STRUGGLE TO BUY LAND: The church struggled to secure enough funds to close the purchase of land. The Lord miraculously answered our prayer!! One of our members, Mr. Richard McPherson, gave the church $50,000 to make the land purchase a reality. Praise the Lord!! The church library is named after Mr. McPherson.
LAND ACQUISITION: During the first years of growth, the Church purchased twenty-three (23) acres of waterfront property for its four-phase Master Plan Project for campus development. (2210 S. Rio Grande Avenue, Orlando, Florida.)
“MIRACLE ON RIO GRANDE”: On August 22, 1996 the congregation marched into the new church, a three story, 30,000 square feet, state of the art family life center (present site).
“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
CHURCH GROWS: The Pastoral Staff increased as the congregation grew. In 1997, Rev. Cynthia Hinson Graham was added as Minister of
Christian Education; the Sunday School began to grow. The New Members’ curriculum was enhanced and expanded. Based on a survey of the congregation courses were offered that would
aid in their spiritual growth. Two terms were offered, fall and spring. As many as twenty-two (22) classes were scheduled for one semester. The church began to get
the reputation as a teaching church.
YOUTH MINISTRY FLOURISHES: Mr. Louis Hoze became the Youth Director and served in that capacity until 2006. He and his wife, Augustine, were dedicated and
innovative in their approach in providing leadership to the ministry. The Youth Ministry experienced tremendous growth.
MEMBER PHILANTHROPIST: On December 31, 1996, Kenard Lang, a young adult charter member of NCBC, fulfilled his promise to give tithes to the Lord and offerings
to the church that provided the major portion of funds needed to complete the third floor. Praise the Lord!! See memorabilia of his football career on the third floor.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: NCBC became more involved in outreach, education, and economic development. To realize this goal, in 1997 NCBC began a summer
camp program, subsequently called Camp Covenant. In 1998 the Rio Grande Foundation of Excellence was organized.
CAMP COVENANT: Our academic enrichment camp opened in the summer of 1998. THE RIO GRANDE CHARTER SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE was opened in August 1999 with 247 students. By 2002 grades three, four and five had been added. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT: In 2000, NCBC began to focus on economic development and empowerment. The Covenant Community Development Corporation began in 2002. Covenant Charities was established to more efficiently manage and support the local, home, and foreign mission outreach ministry.
MUSIC MINISTRY FLOURISHES: The Choir Ministry was developed to include the Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, One Accord, Jubilation, New Inspiration, and the Mass Choir. The musicians were: Janice Lloyd, Sue Love, Eli Wilson, and Gale Jones Murphy. Instrumentally NCBC moved from a piano to a band.
ASSISTANT PASTOR NAMED: In January, 2004 Rev. Cynthia Hinson Graham was ordained and named the first Assistant Pastor of NCBC.
MISSION AND OUTREACH MINISTRY: The Mission and Outreach Ministry under
the capable leadership of Diaconate Barbara Mullings has made sure that the needs
of our missionaries in the NCBC community, China, Haiti, Africa and the United States are met. The Mission Team has also been instrumental in assisting thirty-nine
(39) displaced persons that NCBC relocated to Orlando from New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina.
COVENANT ON THE LAKES: In 2005 the Covenant Community Development Corporation, in partnership with Picerne Development Corporation, was able to implement the plan for economic empowerment. In August, 2006, a 122 unit senior citizen apartment complex, Covenant on the Lakes, was completed.
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” – I Corinthians 2:9
FIRST FULL-TIME MINISTER OF YOUTH: In July, 2006 the church hired its first full time Minister of Youth, Reverend Leroy Rose, III. In February, 2007, Rev. Rose was installed as Associate Pastor of Youth. At that time, three graduates of the Ministerial Training Institute were licensed: Minister Vanard Dinkins, Minister William C. Ingram, and Minister Andrew Hinson Powell. In September 2007 Joseph Billups became the Minister of Music. After hiatus, Minister Eli Wilson returned as Minister of Music.
FOUNDERS’ EGRESS: Pastor Randolph Bracy, Jr. and First Lady LaVon W. Bracy retired after 20 years after leading NCBC from the trunk of a car to a tent to a temple. The church celebrated their service throughout 2012.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: NCBC elected Rev. Leroy Rose, III as its second senior pastor effective January 2013.
CONTINUING TO GROW: Embracing the mantra — NCBC, where God is forming focused, faithful and fruitful followers of Christ – the church continued to grow. The church participated in the Imagine Campaign in 2013 and raised $100K above and beyond tithes to eliminate outstanding debt and take care of some building maintenance concerns. In that same year, new ministries were added, the ministerial team grew to ten, and 160 new members joined the church.
SERVING TEAM EXPANDS: In 2013 Minister James Brown and Minister Shirley Carson preached initial sermons and were commissioned to ministerial service along with six (6) other ministers. Jarvis Brown became our Minister of Music in 2014 and worked to lead in exciting and effective enhancements of our Music Ministry. Then, in April 2016, NCBC held a service of ordination and licensure at which Minister Cedric Kimes and Minister Brandon McRae preached their initial sermons. Also, the fifth class of deacons comprised of seventeen (17) candidates were ordained into this serving ministry – The Diaconate.
STILL ON A MISSION: Local Missions efforts of financial support, food distribution and the reinstated Clothing Pantry are vital to our ministry to the community. Continued support for missionaries abroad and our thirteen (13) Mission de New Covenant churches and 2 orphanages in Haiti remain paramount. Additionally, since 2013, a team from New Covenant travels to participate in Foreign Missions trips to places like: Port-au-Prince, Petion-Ville, Onaville and Jean-Rabel Haiti as well as Trelawny Jamaica.
NIA BOOKSTORE: January 2018 marked the grand opening of our very own bookstore — NIA (Swahili name for PURPOSE) — that serves to provide Christian resources to our membership.
DEDICATED SERVICE: Deacon Cornelius Hudgins, III retired from the chairman position of the diaconate after sixteen (16) years of dedicated service. Deacon Norman J. Edwards was then elected as the third Diaconate chair.
MORTGAGE BURING: On September 22, 2019, during our 27th Church Anniversary, we celebrated paying off the mortgage our main worship and ministry operations facility. What a time of rejoicing it was. We kept our eyes on God, “the Author and Finisher of our faith.”
GROWTH CONTINUES TO THIS DAY: Even in the face of the COVID-19 health pandemic, church membership remains growing & faithful, new ministries are being created, new mission initiatives are under way, building plans & enhancements are moving forward, new partnerships are being fortified and most importantly dedicated disciples for Christ are being formed under the leadership of Pastor Rose and his team. The vision of God is being executed through our Pastor and the New
Covenant Baptist Church. OUR BEST DAYS ARE YET TO COME!!!!