Preaching the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ for over 70 years.
"The Builder, The Teacher and Preacher Of The Apostolic Doctrine"
Bishop Raymond F. Davis, Sr.
Founder & Establishmentarian Of The Greater Highway Church of Christ, Association, Inc., International ("GHCOC")
Bishop Raymond F. Davis Sr. (1922-2017)
“If I can help someone along the way. Then my living won’t be in vain."
As we consider our founding fathers of the Apostolic Faith, naturally, we look to the twelve apostles. They were the beginners and founders of the church of God after the burial and resurrection of Jesus. We know that over the years, after the apostles ceased, the religious war that was fought on Asian soil was an effort to stamp out the teaching and the preaching of the Apostolic Doctrine. It nearly succeeded, but we can thank God that He has a way of keeping the light burning.
When the United States had no one preaching the baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus and teaching the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Lord saved and anointed the late Bishop Garfield Haywood. He was the founder of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, and he re-established the doctrine by teaching about the baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, as well as teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Mighty God! In February 1908, he brought much dissension and division among religious leaders.
Succeeding Bishop Haywood after having worked very closely with him was the late Bishop Samuel Grimes. His influence in the PAW Movement helped secure its stability when the times of disputes and splits threatened the very existence of true holiness.
Among those who withstood the splits and divisions concerning the doctrine were great warriors such as Bishop R.C. Lawson, Bishop Smallwood Williams, Bishop S.C. Johnson, Bishop James T. Morris, Bishop Melvin Robinson, and several other elders and bishops. These men traveled to places including Europe and the West Indies so that the Gospel would be preached.
The organization in which we now worship has its roots there (in a roundabout way), under the leadership of Bishop James T. Morris out of Washington, DC and the late Bishop Melvin Robinson of Philadelphia, PA. Bishop R.F. Davis was saved under the pastoral guidance of the late Elder Jonah Covington. Elder Covington was a member of the Highway Christian Church of Christ, of which Bishop James T. Morris was the General Chairman.
Bishop Davis was baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and God filled him with the Holy Ghost in September 1943. After being saved for a few months, Bishop Davis began to preach and teach the Word of God. Bishop Davis was saved in his early twenties and was known then as Minister R.F. Davis. While under the pastoral leadership of Elder Jonah Covington and Bishop Melvin Robinson, he opened his first mission in Sharon Hill, PA. After Bishop Robinson left the movement of the Highway Christian Church of Christ, Minister Davis remained with Bishop Morris and worked in the North as the Youth President of the HCU.
After experiencing difficulties and sickness in the family, he came to South Carolina and began working in the organization of the Highway Christian Church of Christ in 1949; building and organizing (North and South) with unity, respect, and dignity until 1956. He resigned as National Secretary of The Highway Christian Church of Christ and chartered the Highway Church of Christ at 306 West Liberty Street, Marion, South Carolina without a member. It was a cold Sunday morning December 24th, 1950, he began church and he used a “pot belly” wood-burning heater for heat. The pews were made of wood and sat on concrete blocks with no backs to them, which meant you had to sit up straight.
On January 15, 1988, Bishop Davis was involved in an accidental fire in Boston, MA and miraculously recovered. After returning to his duties as Executive Chairman of the Highway Church of Christ, it was resolved that the Highway Church of Christ would become, registered and known as, The Greater Highway Church of Christ, Inc., with Headquarters on West Liberty Street in Marion, South Carolina.
Bishop Davis built and engineered fifteen churches from the ground up and brought in several affiliated churches along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Jamaica, West Indies. The old sanctuary at 306 West Liberty Street in Marion, South Carolina was demolished in 2005, and the present new edifice, which is the national headquarters, now sits in the place of the old building. God has been good to us!
Bishop R.F. Davis Sr. was a faithful husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, pastor, mentor, businessman, and a friend to many. He was a philosopher and a man of wisdom. Many bishops, pastors, preachers, evangelists, and ministries can credit their genesis to Bishop R.F. Davis. A Servant of God, Bishop R.F. Davis, would say as the songwriter wrote: “May the works I’ve done continue to speak for me.”
