OUR CHURCH

Still Making History
This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:23)

In the summer of 1993, on the campus of Southern Arkansas University, God spoke to Minister Jesse Radford and simply said, "Upper Room Christian Cathedral". At the time, the young minister had no idea what the phrase meant, but obediently jotted the words down and placed the sheet of paper in his wallet. In 1996, God gave Pastor Radford a Genesis 12 experience. Following the leading of the Lord and relocating from Arkansas to Manassas, Virginia, God planted he and his wife (First Lady Almeta Radford) as youth pastors at a local church. In 1998, he was elected as Pastor and served there until the spring of 2000.

In April of 2000, God reminded Pastor Radford of the phrase He spoke to him in 1993. Pastor Radford heeded the call to launch out and make room for a new thing. Through Pastor Radford, God has birthed in the earth the UPPER ROOM CHRISTIAN CATHEDRAL! Upper Room began with the following committed believers, anointed to see the vision God placed in Pastor Radford: Assistant Pastor Frank Lee, Sr., Evangelist Juanita Lee, Tiffany, Harrison and Frank Lee, Jr., Sister Ollie Ennis and Tameka Ennis, Brother Charles Owens, Sister Cassandra Owens and Charles Owens IV and Brother Antoine Robinson. The UPPER ROOM opened her doors on June 11th, 2000 and since that time, has grown tremendously! Pastor Radford has stated that he has a commission from God to no longer be satisfied with “church as usual”. Convinced that God has called for the Church to get back to “normal”, URCC is committed to following the blueprint of the early church as stated in Acts chapters 2-4.

URCC began by meeting at Baldwin Elementary School each Sunday for Morning Worship. Bible Study was held at Assistant Pastor Frank Lee's home for the first couple of months, but as the study began to grow, it was necessary to move to another location. In an effort to remain in the vicinity of the school, Bible Study, known as "Soul Food" moved from Pastor Lee's house to the VFW on Rte. 28 in Manassas. Again, the study was consistently growing; not only in numbers, but also in the spirits of the people. Shortly after meeting at the VFW, God opened the door for URCC to meet at Baldwin on Wednesday nights, allowing all services to be held in the same location.

Because of the rapid growth at the Upper Room, the Lord spoke to Pastor Radford toward the end of 2001, with a Word concerning the church. He said that the church was to meditate on II Samuel 7:10 which states, “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as before time..” The fellowship began to fast and pray on that scripture and on March 16, 2002, after worshiping at Baldwin for 18 months, Pastor Radford received the keys to the current worship location - 8916 Center Street in Old Town Manassas! The people came together to transform the building into a beautiful edifice for the Lord’s glory and on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002 we held the first Worship Experience.

From our inception, the standard of excellence has been placed over this ministry. God has truly blessed this union. Believing that the church should not be in debt, God has seen to it that all of the equipment that was needed for start up has been paid in full and that all financial obligations are met. The Upper Room believes that God wants to do something awesome in the earth through His people! Yielded vessels in line with the Will and the Plan (blueprint) of God, makes way for a transforming experience with God………an Upper Room Experience! God has strategically placed people with kindred hearts and common vision together in a place where we are still "celebrating God's family reunion".