25 YEAR HISTORY
In the beginning ....
In March of 2000, after leaving the downtown 8th and Railroad location,
Jesus Only Apostolic Church relocated to the north end of the building at
3130 N. Cliff Avenue. These were very exciting times for the congregation
since this building offered additional rooms to have Sunday School, a
church office, men’s and women’s restrooms, a sanctuary, and a baptismal
area. God blessed us to grow in this location and several souls were
baptized in Jesus’ name and received the Holy Ghost. At this location, we
were also able to host our very first South Dakota Regional in addition to
other fellowship meetings and outreach events.
Here we started our first church choir and purchased our first set of drums.
To our surprise, our visitor count swelled to a record 41 visitors. Boy was
that an exciting time! It was at this location where many of the founding
members of the church will remember Pastor Sweets teaching from his
famous self-copying whiteboard. He drew a large circle on the board, with
God in the middle and taught: “God is not coming out to get you, you must
get in His circle and come to the truth to receive the benefits God has for
you!” In this location we developed many of our traditional outings and
activities, like our annual bonfire, the apple orchard, and Father’s Day
dinners, all of which we still practice until today.
We still remember traveling to fellowships, meetings, conventions, and
other special events in the old, blue, 2004 Ford 15 passenger bus. It didn’t
look like much, but God blessed us to never be stranded or broken down
on our journeys.
Most of the early membership will remember snow piling up in the South
Dakota winters and having to arrive two hours early to church just to get a
path shoveled so the members could get to the door. And don’t get us
started on having to make sure the parking lot was cleared for church to
begin.
March 2000 - February 2002
2620 Kingston
Unfortunately, after so many memories at this Cliff location, the owner
abruptly sold the building in February of 2002. For a few months, we were
temporarily relocated to Pastor’s house at 2620 West Kingston Drive. Even
while meeting at Pastor’s house, we still had many visitors to our services
and held many events. In September of 2002, we found a new location on
Phillips Ave. in downtown Sioux Falls.
224 N. Phillips Ave.
Even though the Phillips location was temporary, God blessed us by adding
several souls to our congregation. As we continued to travel to fellowships, regionals, and conventions we added events like our very first Valentines Day dinner and fundraiser. During our time here, we had many youth events and experienced many memorable occasions of God’s work.
September 2002—March 2003
2301 West Madison Street
In March of 2003, God allowed Pastor to find a location at 2301 West
Madison. This would become one of our milestone locations. It was at the
Madison location that the church membership grew to about 30-35
members. The location itself wasn’t grand, with green carpet and no
kitchen to speak of, but it did have a sanctuary, private restrooms, and a
fellowship area. It was here that we had our first set of pews.
Any member will recall having to pass right by Pastor’s desk when coming
into the church, which has remained a characteristic of each church
location since. It was here that many of our youth began their adult lives,
marrying and beginning their careers. Unfortunately, a few also left and
have not returned.
As God blessed us richly, our Pastor was elevated to Suffragan Bishop. It
was here we were officially incorporated, and our church officers were
established. We remained in this building until we outgrew it and moved to
another milestone building on Benson Road on the Northeast end of town
in the fall of 2006.
March 2003 - November 2006
1120 Benson Road
In November of 2006, Jesus Only Apostolic had outgrown its building on West Madison Street and moved to Benson Road, located in northern Sioux Falls. At this location the church membership grew to over 65 members.
It was here that the church grew not only in membership, but also added new programs and outreach activities. This is also where we started one of our largest projects, our private school Joy Academy, under the leadership of our pastor, his wife, and Sister Cory. They had a vision of our children being educated with saved and holy instruction, allowing them to excel well beyond what the public school system could offer. Since founding Joy Academy, many graduates have been able to excel in adult life, ahead of public school system graduates in most cases.
At the Benson church, Jesus Only’s outreach expanded, including a church location in Lake Andes, as well as other outreach events to Native American communities throughout South Dakota, North Dakota, and Canada. There were many other activities as well, such as vacation bible school, plays, a variety of youth events, and countless dinners and fellowships.
At this location, we also began filming services to air them all over the world on the Apostolic Oneness Network of Christ Apostolic Temple Fellowship Organization, according to the vision of Bishop Emeritus Jeremiah Reed. God allowed us to prosper and grow as a church on Benson Road, but because we did not own the location, we were forced to relocate in November of 2014 when the building was sold.
November 2006 - November 2014
25 Years Later....
In November of 2014, Jesus Only Apostolic moved to the west side of the building at 1926 West Burnside. This location was a big step in the right direction for us. With our first commercial kitchen, a larger sanctuary, private restrooms, and a paved parking lot, we were feeling highly favored by God. We had more room to grow, and grow we did, with the membership growing to 75-80 members. Since then, we have been able to not only grow, but to purchase the whole building, allowing a church office, fellowship area, and a dedicated area just for Joy Academy. We have also held many fundraisers, caterings, walkathons, BBQ sales, and even a walking taco stand.
We have also established many other fellowship and fundraising opportunities for the saints, including our famous weekly Sweet Shoppe and a variety of very competitive cook-offs. While here, we have continually added to our youth programs, including youth enrichment classes and a curiosity badge program offered through JOY Academy.
This location has truly been a blessing. It has also seen our Pastor’s elevation to Bishop in 2015. He and his wife, Elect Lady Sweets have also been able to obtain their doctorates in Theology and Christian Education through the Apostolic Holiness College of the AFFOI under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Terry Gilmore. From this location, we have also expanded as Pastor Cory and Eld. Matt Sengsouvanna started a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, Apostolic Faith Church of Truth.
November 2014 - Today