It was in the early 1900\u2019s, approximately 1917, when a group of about ten persons formed their
\nfirst church in Norfolk, Virginia. The homes of this small group served as meeting places.
\nService to God and man characterized this group as they flooded Norfolk with religious
\nliterature, held open-air evangelistic meetings, prayed and studied the Bible with hundreds of
\nfamilies and visited from house to house.<\/p>\n
The corner of Calvert Street (now Virginia Beach Blvd.) and Maltby Avenue holds great
\nmemories for the survivors of that first company. A meeting hall was purchased on that site and
\nused as a church. Christian Education was also provided there. In 1932 the meeting hall was
\ntorn down and a church was erected on the same site. Bethel S.D.A. Church was dedicated in
\n1933 under the pastoral of Elder Burgess. Because of a redevelopment program we were
\ncompelled to vacate this vicinity. A building program was started in 1954 under the pastorate of
\nElder J.H. Farrow. It was during Elder Wagoner\u2019s term that a new site on Corprew Avenue was
\npurchased for a church building and a school. We went into our new school building in 1958.<\/p>\n
Our membership continued to increase. Cramped conditions and a change in the city ordinances
\ncompelled us to vacate this building. Under the leadership of James Thomas and through the
\nuntiring efforts of Sister Ada Peele, our Building Fund Chairperson negotiations began for the
\npurchase of our edifice at 1006 Oakwood Street. In 1965, our move from the school building to
\nthe present structure was made possible under the pastorate of Elder W.C. Scales, Jr. and his
\nfather, Elder W.C. Scales, Sr., our Bible Instructor. A change to a new building also called for a
\nchange of our original name from Bethel S.D.A. Church to Campostella Heights S.D.A. Church.<\/p>\n
Our church school continued to thrive and during our first year at Campostella Heights emerged
\nour first graduating class\u2014Beverly Garris, Cheryl Dixon Matthew Corley, III, Carlton Hopkins
\nand Martin Scarborough. Our church has always been blessed with children, but it might interest
\nyou to learn that Gordon Davis was the first baby born to Campostella Heights. Patrick Holley
\nand Suzanne Guilford were the first babies to be blessed. The first to be wed at Campostella
\nwere Wayne and Gwendolyn McGill.<\/p>\n
The baptistry was installed during Elder Brewer\u2019s pastorate. Under the leadership of Pastor W.C.
\nScales, Jr. and W.C. Scale, Sr. we conducted our first radio broadcast and television appearance.
\nDuring Elder Louis Preston\u2019s pastorate, television appearances were made and a regular weekly
\nradio broadcast was instituted. The radio broadcast continued until 2015. Elder James Clements
\nconducted our first Revelation Seminar and under Pastor Oliver Cheatham we witnessed the
\nburning of the church mortgage. Pastor Byron Hill started our Prison ministry program which is
\nstill active today.<\/p>\n
Under Elder Colin Brathwaite we began a new \u201cBuilding Program\u201d. In 1996 Pastor Thornton
\nlead the church in adopting the nearby community of Oakleaf Forrest.\u00a0 In this community, we held health fairs which included blood pressure checks, a community Sabbath School, cooking
\nclasses, and Bible studies. The church continued to grow rapidly under Pastor Thornton\u2019s
\nleadership. Pastor Banks saw the vision for a larger sanctuary and in January 2007 a new
\nsanctuary was dedicated. In 2008 Elder Michael Edwards became our pastor, and during his
\ntenure we established a vibrant community service program where more than 100 families
\nreceived food weekly, and celebrated 100 years as a church.<\/p>\n
Over 100 years later we continued to make great strides in our Christian experience. The church
\npassed out hundreds of pieces of literature telling of God\u2019s love, mercy and His soon coming.
\nBelieving in the power of prayer and service we have prayer groups, health ministry, personal
\nministry, Bible studies, music ministry, men, women and youth ministry. Our pathfinder club
\ndrum core won first place at the 2015 Oshkosh camporee competition in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
In May 2018, Pastor Howard Duncan arrived, and under his leadership the church parking lot
\nwas resurfaced and Campostella Heights YouTube channel was established that helped the church
\nto transition virtually once COVID-19 became a global pandemic. On January 9, 2021, Elder
\nIshmael S. Wade was installed as the new pastor of Campostella Heights.<\/p>\n
We look forward to experiencing more great things God has in store for us as He blesses us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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