History of Our Church

The history of Christianity really goes back before the birth of Jesus into the Old Testament and ancient Jewish prophesies. Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, a leader and savior whose coming was predicted by Jewish scriptures (the Christian Old Testament) centuries before His birth. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which is why Jesus is also called Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus or simply Christ. This is where the term "Christian" came from, to identify a person who followed Jesus.

Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism for those Jewish believers who accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah and their Savior. God's promise of the Messiah was always meant to be a blessing for the entire world and not just the Jewish people. In the same promise God made to Abraham, the father of the Jews, about creating a Jewish nation through him, God also states that the Jewish lineage would bring a blessing to the whole world. Christians believe that Jesus is that blessing that was promised to Abraham and everyone else. Jesus commanded that the good news of His sacrificial death, resurrection and redemption should be shared with the whole world. The early Christian church leaders soon realized that Christianity was not just for Jews and began spreading the word to Gentiles (non-Jews) as well.

The Gospel Spreads Throughout the World

Because Jesus and His disciples lived in the Roman province of Palestine, the environment was just right to take advantage of the well-connected Roman communications networks and enabled Christianity to spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire and eventually to the rest of Europe, and finally throughout the entire globe.

Over the last 2,000 years, the message of Christianity has been spread through three major branches of the Christian Church. The Roman Catholic branch of Christianity is the successor of the church established in Rome and shares a history going back to the early church with the Eastern Orthodox branch. In 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church separated itself from the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox churches are largely national, each associated with a particular country. Orthodoxy is common in Russia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and Armenia. The Protestant branch split from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, a sixteenth and seventeenth century series of church reforms in doctrine and practice. Protestantism eventually developed into many denominations with slight subtleties of doctrine, theology, or religious practice. However, despite differences in practice and style, all Christian churches agree that the essential Christian doctrine is a life-changing and death-defying faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We see Christian church history not as the history of various and specific institutions, but as a history of the message of the gospel (which means good news), that Christ commissioned his disciples to spread throughout the world. It is that connection to the original message of Jesus, which has been spread through various Christian groups throughout history, that we identify with. We desire to continue to pass on "HIS-Story" as we take part in God's history.

Serenity's Church History

Serenity Christian Worship Center Inc., is a non-denominational ministry which was established in December 2006.  We began with a small group coming together for Bible Study with the intent of establishing a body of believers that would bring glory and honor to God, and that would win souls for the kingdom of God in the South Jersey area.  Our first official service was held on Sunday, January 7, 2007 at the Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  In August, 2007 we were incorporated as Serenity Christian Worship Center Inc.

For the first eight months, the congregation assembled for bible studies at the Quality Inn - Grand Versailles in Maple Shade, New Jersey and held Sunday worship services at the Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  In September of 2007 God favored SCWC and blessed us with a place of worship, a 6,000 square feet facility at 3555 Haddonfield Road, Pennsauken, New Jersey.

The church has attracted young families and seasoned saints, and it is our desire to have a multi-racial/multi-cultural congregation.  Presently, in addition to Sunday Worship, our ministries include Men's & Women's Ministries, Bible Studies, Prayer Ministries, Youth Groups, Ushers and Greeters and Outreach Ministries.  The church remains solidly committed to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in all that it does.