Bishop J.H. Curry: An Eminent Church Leader

by Louis F. Morgan

From Church of God History and Heritage

Winter/Spring 2003

 

Black ministers in the Church of God were often isolated in segregated conventions and meetings during the early decades of the movement. Thus, their potential frequently went unnoticed by the broader constituency of the church. However, Bishop J.H. Curry was among the first black ministers to become widely recognized. A dynamic preacher and gifted leader, he became one of the most eminent black ministers in the early years of the Church of God.

John Henry Curry was born in Abaco, Bahamas, on August 14, 1894. The native-Bahamian accepted Christ in 1913 in the Baptist Church and migrated to Florida the following year. In 1917, while living in Florida, J.H. Curry felt called of God to be a minister of the Gospel. He took his first "missionary trip" in 1919. Later that same year he accompanied Herman Smith on another "missionary" journey.

During this second evangelistic endeavor, Brother Curry was intrigued by a sign that read, "Get off and catch one!" Although the sign alluded to fish, Brother Curry was overcome with zeal as a "fisher of men." In response to the sign he began to preach, and, according to his daughter Lillian Hawes, the "preaching netted four souls." This was the beginning of the Fifth Avenue Church of God in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.¹

On January 22, 1920, the twenty-seven-year-old J.H. Curry received ministerial license in the Church of God as an evangelist. His pastor, Bishop Thomas J. Richardson, and the local congregation in Miami set him forth into the ministry.² Three years later, on March 18, 1923, he was ordained a bishop in the Church of God and was appointed district overseer of the churches in his region.³ Then in 1925 he became the pastor of the Miami Church of God.⁴

In 1928 Bishop Curry was appointed to serve as "Overseer of the Church of God Colored Work," following previous overseers Thomas J. Richardson (1922-1923) and David LaFleur (1923-1928). Bishop Curry served a total of eleven years as the national overseer of black ministries.⁵ This was during the period 1922 to 1968 when, at the request of the black constituency of the movement, there was racial separation in the conventions and assemblies of the Church of God.

Under Bishop Curry’s leadership as overseer, the northern and southern black congregations were united under one annual convention. This meeting was held in Jacksonville, Florida, where an assembly auditorium was constructed. Bishop Curry directed the purchase of the Jacksonville property, as well as assisted Bishop C.F. Bright in constructing the auditorium, which was dedicated in 1936, to house the annual assemblies of the black members and ministers. In addition, Bishop Curry oversaw the purchase of thirty-two lots in Eustis, Florida, on which property an orphanage and school was located. The girls’ dormitory for the Church of God Industrial School and Orphanage was dedicated on July 2, 1934.⁶

Bishop J.H. Curry was clearly an influential leader among the black constituency of the Church of God. Beginning in 1930 he was appointed to the first Bishops’ Council for the Church of God Colored Work, as it was termed then.⁷ Moreover, his adept leadership ability earned him recognition throughout the Church of God as a whole. In 1923 Bishop Curry became the first black minister appointed to "The Other Seventy," which was a group of seventy ministers who, along with the general overseer and Council of Twelve, composed the "official Assembly" between the years of 1921 and 1929.⁸ He was also the first black minister to be elected to the International Executive Council as part of what was then termed "Council of Twelve." Bishop Curry accepted that ministry post during the 1932 general assembly and served in the position for six years.⁹

Bishop J.H. Curry died on August 22, 1955, while living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.¹⁰ One of the most influential black ministers in the Church of God took rest from his labors. An eminent leader, he helped pave the way for future black leaders in the Church of God. Indeed, the fruits of his labors follow after him still.

Notes

1. Lillian Curry Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father," Church of God Industrial School and Orphanage Reunion Program, July 2-5, 1987: 6.

2. "John Henry Curry Ministerial File," Department of Business and Records at Church of God International Offices, Cleveland, Tennessee.

3. Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father"; and, "John Henry Curry Ministerial File."

4. Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father."

5.  Charles W. Conn, Like a Mighty Army, Definitive Edition, (Cleveland, Tenn.: Pathway Press, 1996), 556.

6. Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father."

7. Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father."

8. Conn, Like a Mighty Army, 208.

9. Hawes, "Bishop J.H. Curry: In Memory of My Father" and Conn, Like A Mighty Army, 250.

10. "In Memoriam," Church of God Evangel, October 22, 195 11.

 

Louis Morgan serves as Librarian of Instructional Services at William G. Squires Library

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