Our History

I would like to extend Holy greetings in the saving name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has purchased the Church with His blood. We thank God for the foundation built through the hard labour, determination, strength and love for the gospel of Jesus Christ that our Bishop McKenzie and the saints of Zion have shown over the years

The year 2006 marked the 40^th Anniversary of the founding of Zion Church of Christ Apostolic. Here follows a short concise history of Zion church.

In the early 1970’s Bishop E. Clarke and his family immigrated to the USA. Before he left for America, Bishop Clarke (Who the Lord saw fit to take home on 15^th June 2007) moved us to a new address: Tiverton School Hall, in Tottenham. Elder Ira McKenzie then became the Pastor of Zion. The Church moved on and souls were added. Zion later left BAC and was affiliated with ‘Shiloh United’ under the leadership of Bishop Malachi Ramsey.

Zion left Shiloh in the mid-eighties and became a registered Charity in 1986. In 1989 the Church had to leave the school hall that had become her home for approximately two decades, to worship in the house of the late Deacon McKenzie; affectionately known as ‘Uncle Dill’. This was seen as a tremendous blow, yet with hindsight, moving into the house for approximately four years meant that we were able to save more money towards our own building, as we did not have to pay rent.

The Saints were strengthened in the Spirit and God’s presence was in abundance. Souls were added to the church, in The House; the gift of the Holy Ghost fell as like on the day of Pentecost; O praise God! We had all things common: breaking of bread, Communion and Washing of Feet too. It was amazing to us how so many people fitted into Deacon Dill’s lounge each Sunday. Bishop McKenzie always believed and commented on many occasions that ‘God expanded the lounge’ in order to accommodate everyone. We had weekday services too. Sadly, we also experienced the death of our dearly beloved Sis Cislyn McKenzie (Bishop McKenzie’s wife), whom God took home to glory.

Our God is a miracle-working God; we believe that little becomes much, when you place it in the Master’s hands. True enough, in 1994 we purchased our own building, without having a mortgage, with only approximately 35 members who were in full-time employment; another one of God’s miracle. There was much construction work to be done to the building and God made this possible. Bishop McKenzie always stated… “In the day of thy power, thy people will be willing…” Psalms 110:3

The Bible is filled with events spanning a forty-year timeline. It took the children of Israel forty years to pass through the wilderness; Saul, David and Solomon all reigned for forty years each, over the United Kingdom of Israel. These periods in history have brought times of testing, victories and if we are honest, defeats have also been experienced. I am sure that most of us have heard anointed messages throughout the years touching on the wilderness experience of God’s people, causing us to realise that the wilderness is not all bad; stating that unforgettable events took place during the wilderness years.

The Tabernacle was built in the wilderness. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. God clothed his people and he supplied their daily bread. The Kings of Israel whilst in the Promised Land had their own wilderness experiences. What do you do when you are in the Promised Land having a wilderness experience? Instead of your clothes fitting and lasting the distance, they begin to deteriorate and leave you exposed to the weather and storms of life.

Stay strong for such a time as this.