The Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast - Biloxi
Reverend Arlie O. Holmes, one of the great Pentecostal pioneers, answered the call from God to start a church in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1944. The first meeting was under the flaps of a large tent on the west side of Caillavet Street and Bay Avenue near a large Oak tree. The gulf waters served as the church’s baptistry.
Prior to coming to Biloxi, Brother Arlie O. Holmes and his wife Agnes were a praying family and depended on the Lord for direction. Brother Holmes walked into the house and said, "The Lord has just spoken to me to resign this church and go to Biloxi, Mississippi." Brother Holmes had invitations to pastor other churches if he ever felt his work was finished at Bethel Pentecostal Church in Jayess, Mississippi. According to Brother Holmes, “We did not know a living soul in Biloxi and had never been invited there.”
Brother and Sister Holmes resigned their church the following Saturday night. They recall, “We put a few clothes in the little trailer and left the next morning. It was September 1944; the weather was hot, and we had no air conditioning; however, we were used to the heat since we had never had air-conditioning in the church or the parsonage.” Oceans of Blessings, Agnes Holmes, pg. 33.
Brother Hiram Holland then began pastoring the Bethel Pentecostal Church after Brother Holmes went to Biloxi. Later, Brother Holland became pastor in Biloxi in 1945 when God called him there to take over the work that Brother Arlie Holmes had begun, which is now the Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast. Brother Holland resigned as pastor in Biloxi in 1947.
After several transitional years, Brother T.C. Smith went to Biloxi in 1953. According to the biography of Paul E. Matthews, who was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base during this time, he received the Holy Ghost in February of 1955 under the pastorship of Brother T.C. Smith. Brother T.C. Smith resigned as a pastor in 1956.
During this time of transition, the church searched for leadership among several different pastors. Though each was qualified, none felt it their calling to remain with the small struggling congregation. On September 11, 1960, Reverend James H. Springer felt a definite call to come pastor the church that Reverend Arlie Holmes founded. Not only was it the will of God that he remain, but it was also the desire of the congregation (which by then numbered about sixty adults and children).
Within three years of his arrival on the Gulf Coast, the church added a new education facility. In 1974, Reverend James Springer initiated building a new sanctuary recognizing the need for a larger building. The new sanctuary seated 200, but it proved to be too small shortly after completion warranting another larger building.
In 1977, Paul Springer, Reverend James Springer's son, answered his calling and became a full-time evangelist. In 1980, Brother Paul Springer left full-time evangelism and became his father's assistant. He was later voted in as associate pastor. Reverend Paul Springer was officially ordained on June 6, 1990, by the UPCI.
After the new church's major construction on Popp's Ferry Road began, Reverend James Springer was injured in a fall on the construction site. Both Reverend James and Sister Betty Springer were hospitalized a total of five times in four months. In 1994, Reverend Paul Springer was then elected Senior Pastor of First Pentecostal Church of Biloxi (now Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast) and served in this capacity for 25 growth-filled years.
Reverend Paul Springer had a vision for a new state-of-the-art facility, and the first service in the new facility was on May 20, 2018. Reverend Paul Springer looked forward to securing the future of Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast. On February 22, 2019, Reverend Chadwick Craft was elected pastor of Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast and continues to serve alongside his wife Sarah Craft, and their three children, Sunday Rose, Jackson Rhett, and Harrison Chadwick.
The Crafts’ vision for the future is to continue leading a hope-giving congregation, build strong families, fund missionaries worldwide, and send ministers into the harvest field. Future plans include a retreat location for ministers, adding eight new rooms in the PGCLIFE facility, building a playground and pavilion on site, constructing a new parking lot, and installing a 30-foot LED sign on Popps Ferry Road. The Crafts also desire to establish a summer training program for those called to ministry and to expand the Apostolic footprint in the Gulf Coast region.
The future is promising because the foundation is strong!