New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church began in September 1996 with 152 faithful Christians guided by the Holy Spirit to band together and renew their covenant with God. On Sunday, November 17, 1996, at the Barbara Jordan Community Center, this group began worshipping together as a body of baptized believers. On December 1, 1996, church service was held at Ella Austin Community Center. Ministers from the city were occasionally called upon to preach as this body of believers became solidified. The group worshipped at Barbara Jordan Community Center regularly until they outgrew the space.
On April 2, 1997, the group voted to continue worshipping and serving God together as an organized church. After much prayer, the name New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church was chosen. On Sunday, April 16, 1997, the Christian body united with the West Point Baptist Church under Pastor Kerry Tillman.
On April 20, 1997, at the Claude W. Black Community Center, the church was officially organized by Rev. Kerry Tillman, Rev. L. H. Mills, and Rev. Paul G. Wilkinson. The service included the ordination of Rev. Hubert Griffin, the installation of church officers, the adoption of the Church Covenant, and the official ratification of the church’s name. One hundred eighty-eight (188) charter members were given the right hand of fellowship and were presented certificates of membership. There was now an official home for the 188 members. Four new members joined the newly organized church: David Huntley, Tracey Huntley, and Debra Hannon by Christian experience, Kelle Wilson was the first candidate for baptism bringing our membership to 192. This unprecedented service was filled with singing, praise, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The deacons and trustees found a church building located on San Antonio’s southeast side. It had been consecrated and used by Huntleigh Park Baptist Church and was currently being used by the Quartet Singers Association. Although small, it was a perfect edifice for the group of believers. On Sunday, September 7, 1997, the congregation marched to its new location of worship at 4802 Billy Drive, San Antonio, Texas. In celebration of this glorious occasion, the congregation sang “Marching to Zion” during the processional.
Rev. Dr. Paul David Stevens, Sr. was called to serve as Pastor on November 11, 1998. His first sermon as Pastor was on Sunday, December 6, 1998. The sermon was entitled “The Danger of Looking Back” from Genesis 19:15-26.
On Sunday, February 21, 1999, Dr. Stevens was installed as Pastor of New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Rev. L.H. Mills, Pastor. Many other local ministers were also present to witness this auspicious occasion. Pastor Stevens’ vision was shared and quickly embraced by the entire congregation. Pastor Stevens gave New Covenant its motto: “The New Covenant Way is an Excellent Way.”
The church donated the necessary funding needed for the purchase of land for its future sanctuary. Pastor Stevens appointed trustees, deacons, and members to find land and make plans for a new church building.
On the fourth Sunday in June 2000, a new chapter in the history of New Covenant was revealed when we dedicated our future home site located at 1107 Southeast Loop 410. In June of 2001, ten deacons were ordained. On October 14, 2001, we burned the mortgage of our 7.8 acres of land. That was just the beginning of the vision Dr. Stevens had for New Covenant. On April 6, 2003, the first shovels of dirt were unearthed for the groundbreaking of our new sanctuary.
On January 4, 2004, we dedicated our building: God’s Church! God blessed us with tremendous community, political, and spiritual support with approximately 800 in attendance. Dr. Robert Jemerson, Pastor of Second Baptist, San Antonio, Texas delivered the message from St. Luke 15: 1-9, entitled, “Neighbor, Don’t Get Lost in Church.”
In November 2004 the church purchased a 1.25 acre lot at 466 Glenoak, San Antonio, Texas. In November 2005, the lot at 1302 Semlinger, San Antonio, Texas, was purchased. In the same year, an additional five (5) ministries were added: Greeters, Praise Team, Silver Saints, Men of Covenant, and New Covenant EDC.
Indicative of the vision Pastor Stevens had for New Covenant, in January 2005, he saw a need to modify our church motto to “Expanding the Kingdom on Purpose”. In January 2006, an 8 o’clock morning service was implemented. God continued to add to the church with our membership consisting of over 800 at this time.
Our church sponsored a Black Education College tour that started in 2004. We have also blessed the graduating high school seniors of New Covenant through our scholarship fund. This fund has given out over $250,000 since its inception. Ministers Belinda Stevens and Walter Williams were ordained on April 25, 2012. On August 11, 2012, we dedicated two water wells. One well is in Sanjanamalar, Liberia, and one is in the village of Angwan Bokolo, Tsiga Nigeria.
The year 2014 was another amazing year for the record books! Our faithful and dedicated members witnessed the burning of our church mortgage. In 2016, we began supporting the New Vision International Ministries in Haiti. As we continued to grow, a need for storage had to be met, so a new garage and storage building was erected in 2018.
In March 2020, the world was stricken by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Due to CDC guidelines, mandatory self-quarantine, and social distancing, we began recording sermons and posting them on YouTube. Wednesday Morning Manna was created, and Pastor Stevens offered to our members weekly Bible Study on our YouTube Channel. New Covenant became active on multiple social media platforms; Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Zoom. Even with access to social media, New Covenant desired in-person worship service, so we held our first “Park and Praise” worship service on Sunday, July 5, 2020. The parking lot worship service was filled with the presence of God and automobile horns were blowing with praise and glory unto the Lord.
On July 4, 2021, after a sixteen-month absence from corporate worship, we returned to in-person worship service at 9:00 a.m. In October of 2021, five deacons were ordained by Pastor Stevens. New Covenant was blessed in March 2022 to be used as one of Bexar County’s polling sites for early voting.
Over the last 27 years, New Covenant has purchased an additional three (3) acres of land, formed thirty plus (30+) ministries, five (5) community partnerships, had twenty (20) associate ministers and six (6) members have accepted their call into the gospel ministry and six (6) pastors have come out of this ministry.
Today, the membership of New Covenant has grown to over 3,000 members. One of Pastor Stevens’ favorite scriptures comes from the Book of Acts, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
The Lord is continuing to bless New Covenant both
spiritually and numerically.
