Elder Charles Haywood Ellis
1934-1953
Since 1934, the Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God has served as both a beacon to and a reflection of the Bronzeville Community on Chicago’s southside. Founded by a participant of the Great Migration, for its first two years it was known simply as “The Church,” and was located at 3455 South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL. The founding pastor, Charles H. Ellis, Sr., was born in 1900 in Musgooga County, Alabama, near Columbus, Georgia. The son of a preacher, he would later follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1920, Charles, his bride of two years, Lucille, and their two young children joined the Great Migration and moved to Chicago looking for a better life. Eleven more children would be added to the family by 1942.
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“Stony the path we trod…”
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Elder Ellis, as he would come to be known, sold produce, fish, coal, wood, and anything else he could to feed his family. He also moved people, working long hours and often until after dark. When he added pastoring to his list of duties, it meant sometimes leaving his work truck with one of his sons, changing clothes and preaching or performing a marriage… then changing back into work clothes to continue working late into the night. Pastor Ellis had little education but was graced with the ability to deal with all types of people. He was loved by all who knew him.
Initially there were no more than about 20 members, most of them fellow southerners who also had found their way to Bronzeville seeking the promise of the American Dream. Though they were small in number, they were a determined and resourceful congregation that persevered through adversity. Although their first church building on South Prairie was rodent infested and leaked so badly that they often had to put out pots and pans to catch the water even while church was in progress, the members were undaunted. Not only were they enthusiastic in their worship, but they shared their meager means to promote the dream of a vibrant church in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Members sold dinners, held sowing circles to make clothing, had rummage sales and did whatever else they could to raise money for their church. What they lacked in material goods, they more than made up for in love for God and for each other. Pastor Ellis, the ministers and members of the church would go out to witness and preach on the streets to passersby. And the church began to grow… Soon the name “The Church” was changed to “The Pentecostal Church of God.” Later, in 1941, the growing band of believers moved into an old real estate office at 3522 South Indiana Avenue, which they remodeled into a church. A year and a half later, the congregation purchased the vacant lot next to the church at 3520 S. Indiana Avenue. The church name evolved again, becoming “The Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God.”
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By the time of his untimely passing in 1953, Pastor Ellis had realized his dream of seeing the Sunday School, one of the major community outreaches, grow to an attendance of 150.
Elder Odee Akines
1953-1970
Pastor Ellis was succeeded in 1954 by his assistant pastor, Elder Odee Akines, also the son of a preacher, and a product of the deep South – Mississippi. Akines came to Chicago in 1922, and eventually found a place, along with his wife Rosie, within the congregation of the Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God. He acknowledged a call to the ministry in 1946. When he became pastor, he inherited challenges. The church was heavily in debt due to various additions and renovations that had recently been made to their building.
Pastor Akines led with gentleness and great humility. Like his predecessor, he made extreme sacrifices for the church. He willingly worked at the church, not just preaching and teaching, but also fitting pipes, cutting grass, and washing walls. He and his wife were known as people given to hospitality. First Lady Rosie Akines was known as one who was always willing to prepare meals for members and friends.
Under their gentle leadership, the church continued to grow and began to flourish. Auxiliaries were organized or reorganized, the music ministry grew and became popular, and families grew. The church emerged from the oppressive indebtedness that Pastor Akines inherited. And his ministry flourished, locally – as chairman of an Illinois Council of Pentecostal Churches – and internationally – through his involvement with International Missions. As the church grew, a savings plan was put in place for the purchase of a new edifice.
Bishop Charles Edward Davis, D.D. (Chief)
1970-2021
Upon his passing, Pastor Akines would be succeeded by another son of the South and product of the Great Migration, Pastor Charles Edward Davis. Born in Leland, Mississippi in 1923, Davis moved with his family to Chicago at an early age and lived in Bronzeville. After serving honorably in the U. S. Army, Charles came back to Chicago, where he became a member of The Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God in 1954. Along with his wife, Lady Geraldine Davis, he was a hardworking and committed member, serving in multiple capacities in the church. He could be seen serving in the kitchen, picking up members for church, and was the esteemed youth leader. Because of his unassuming, but unabashed leadership ability, he came to be affectionately known as “Chief.”
When Pastor Davis assumed leadership in 1970, he left a career at Hart, Schaffner and Marx to become full-time pastor. As full-time pastor, he was determined to give God the same amount of time, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as he had given his previous employer. In addition to the daily administrative operations of the church, he was never too busy to visit and pray for the members of the congregation who were sick in the hospital, in the nursing homes or in hospice care. He was not above driving the church vans to pick up the members for church.
A concerned, energetic, and visionary leader, Pastor Davis (later Bishop Davis) led the church to unprecedented growth and Kingdom impact. Over time the congregation was bursting at the seams with growth. More than just a caring shepherd, Bishop Davis was an astute administrator and businessman. In the 80’s he embarked on a mission to purchase all the properties around the church, saying: “If you can own it, you can determine its use.”
Eventually, his leadership​ would result in the church owning over 21 parcels of land in the heart of Bronzeville. His entrepreneurial flair was evidenced by the purchase of a fully operational print shop and a fully equipped funeral home.
In 1982, The Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God, affectionately known by many, simply as “35 th Street,” broke ground for a beautiful new church edifice. In 1984, the 50 th year of the church’s history, Bishop Davis led his congregation, now numbering in the hundreds, to dedicate their new church. Just ten years later they burned the mortgage on their building.
Bishop Davis was a man of commitment, integrity, faith, and fortitude; he was a visionary, trailblazer, builder, administrator, spiritual counselor, strong community supporter and a friend to thousands. His love for God and people can be witnessed in the many lives that he inspired. He was a man of exemplary character and unwavering conviction. Bishop Davis was dedicated to helping humanity, whether members of his church or people of the community. Consequently, he was highly respected among religious and secular leaders.
As he entered his twilight years in the 2010’s, Bishop Davis may have found himself running short on time and energy, but he never ran out of vision. He left us with plans and dreams to impact our community. He had architectural renderings of houses to be built on our church lots; of a senior living facility and of an addition to the existing church edifice to better serve families and our community. Additionally, he had dreams of such church-owned business ventures as a car wash.
In February of 2021, Bishop Davis received the ultimate promotion. He became a part of the “Great Cloud of Witnesses.” He was preceded in death by his wife of 43 years, Lady Geraldine Davis, and by his second wife of 15 years, Dr. Jessie Davis.
He was a man of commitment, integrity, faith, fortitude, a visionary, trailblazer, builder, administrator, spiritual counselor, strong community supporter and a friend to thousands. He was an ambassador and a true conqueror for God. His love for God and people can be witnessed in the many lives that he inspired. He was a man of exemplary character and stood firm on what he believed.
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Bishop Charles Edward Davis married Dr. Jessie Bell Kay on November 2004 and embraced 2 sons and 2 daughters. They were married for 15 years and worked faithfully until her demise in April 2020.
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Bishop Davis was dedicated to helping humanity, whether members of his church or people of the community. He was highly respected among religious and secular leaders. His academic and secular accomplishments are many and he received countless letters of commendation, plaques, and accolades from religious, political and community organizations. Under his leadership, I.P.C. became ownership of more than twenty properties across the city.
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As recorded in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” This is one of the many scriptures Bishop Davis embraced, but there are many scriptures that demonstrated his successful walk with God. He found favor with God and man and continued to increase in wisdom.
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Bishop Charles Edward Davis served as pastor of the Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God, from 1970 until God called him home on February 9, 2021.
He was a true shepherd, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a friend to many and a lover of God’s people.
Bishop Mark A. Moore, Sr.
2022 - Present
After the death of our third pastor Bishop Charles E. Davis, the church went into a pastoral selection mode for a new pastor. After more than 18 months of prayer, fasting, deliberation, and interviewing several candidates, the mantle fell on our current pastor, Bishop Mark Moore Sr.
On the first Sunday in September 2022, Bishop Moore along with his elegant and distinguished wife, Dr. Shirley Moore, reported for duty. In her remarks that first Sunday, Lady Moore coined a phrase “Rebuilding God’s House.” That phrase resonated with many in the congregation. And a new and exciting era in the history of Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God began as this Pentecostal power couple went to work.
Under Bishop Moore’s passionate and prayerful leadership Indiana Avenue has continued her legacy as a Mighty Soul-saving Station in the City of Chicago, as members are bringing in first time guests on a weekly basis resulting in baptisms and spiritual rebirth. Bishop Moore is often heard to say, “God is asking, ‘Where are My souls?’” But in addition to our traditional word of mouth and street evangelism, Bishop Moore has made tremendous strides to upgrade our church’s social media footprint through Facebook, Instagram and YouTube – allowing us to touch thousands of people around the world with our weekly services and events.
Some of Bishop Moore’s accomplishments in his short tenure at IPC have included:
Annual Church Leadership Training Meeting in January
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Re-opening of the Sunday School
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Instituted “Fitly Joined” New Member’s Curriculum
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Activated Other Auxiliaries – Men, Women and Music
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Re-entry for Midweek Services
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Rebuilding of Prayer Meetings – adding three additional weekly prayer meetings
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IPC’s First Women’s Retreat led by First Lady Moore
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Busload to the PAW Convention in St. Louis
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Introduced Breakthrough Revival Weekends
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First IPC Picnic/Back to School Event
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Logo Rebranding – new look
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Implementation of the A.C.T.I.O.N. Institute (All Church Training In One Night) with
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special seminars and training on Wednesday evenings before Bible Study.
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First City-wide Good Friday Service
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Re-instituted Family VBS – summer of 2024
Capital Improvements have included:
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Completely refurnished the Offices of our Church
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Parking Lots repaired and striped
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Church exterior painted
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Landscape improvements
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Updated Signage
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Pool Repair & Update
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Extensive Lighting and Electrical Improvements
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Drastically upgraded Audio/Video Department
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4K Cameras added
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Additional Mics
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Multiple Computers and screens for stream/video/audio editing
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Pro-tools for Video work
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Teen workforce development program in partnership with the City of Chicago through After School Matters and One Summer Chicago
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In Bishop Moore, the Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church once again has a Pastor after God’s heart. Our current pastor has become known as a man of prayer and fasting. As a concerned shepherd, our pastor not only consistently prays for his flock, but reaches out to them by every​ available means – including visiting the sick in hospitals and homes. Nationally in demand as a preacher and teacher, Pastor Moore is committed to feeding IPC the “finest of the wheat,” while also “doing the work of an evangelist.” Each week, in addition to other pastoral responsibilities, many hours are spent in prayer and preparation to bring fresh Rhema to the saints. Because he believes that nothing is too good for ‘his’ flock, Bishop Moore also brings fresh and exciting
ministries from throughout the nation to minister to IPC.
In January of 2024, Bishop unveiled four foundations that the Lord has given him to rebuild and grow our church:
1. Devotion – answering the call of God for IPC to be a House of Prayer and Revival
through weekly and monthly prayer and consecration opportunities.
2. Discipleship – leading people from just being in the “crowd” to being “committed.” This
foundation includes our New Member’s Class and our Foundations Class.
3. Development – intentional and consistent ongoing training – including training
opportunities for ministerial and leadership development, life-skills enhancements, and
church auxiliaries excellence.
4. Dragnets (Outreach) – including direct evangelism, event evangelism, social media
evangelism and community service evangelism.
Progress has been made in building on all four of these foundations. But in addition to providing leadership in all these areas, Bishop Moore has begun working on a new project, quietly building a coalition team (from inside and outside IPC) for the purpose of future development projects to benefit our Bronzeville community, not just spiritually, but holistically through educational initiatives, economic empowerment, housing development, family services, and “newcomer” (immigrant) ministries.
Lady Moore has done a phenomenal job reorganizing and reviving the women of the church by implementing the W.O.P., which stands for ‘WOMEN OF PURPOSE.’ Her fingerprints can be seen in many other areas as well. IPC again has an engaged, active and hardworking First Lady standing alongside the Pastor. Lady Moore brings enthusiasm, love and a spirit of excellence to everything she touches. She has a way of making everyone feel special.
Together, Bishop and Lady Moore bring a spirit of excellence to everything they undertake. Although he is Harvard educated, he maintains a ‘common touch.’ In the short time that they have been here, IPC has taken on new life. We believe our Pastor and First Lady embody the prayers of our 3 previous pastors – and of the saints of old – that God would continue to move His church forward to ever higher levels. That divine favor is on the lives of our leaders is evidenced by how they have been embraced in the larger community – from civic leaders to business leaders to other church leaders.
We know there is much more to come. We also know that as we enter our ‘promise land’ there are ‘giants’ to fight and ‘walled cities’ to overcome, but we also know that by the grace of God, our church is in capable hands. The ‘baton’ has been passed, a new leg of IPC’s ‘relay race’ has begun. We are running with the Vision! Our Best Days are just ahead!!