APOSTOLIC TEMPLE CHURCH HISTORY
Proverbs 22:28 instructs us to “Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set.” Those landmarks, set 59 years ago by the first pastor, Rev. Verbal Bean, still stand in place today. We thank God for those “heroes of faith” that have led this congregation. Truly the Lord has smiled on Apostolic Temple through the years by placing his anointing and calling upon the lives of those who were chosen to lead His people.
Bro. Verbal Bean, at the age of seventeen, and his mother, Sis. Bernice Bean, came to the Pasadena/South Houston area in 1951, seeking after God to do His bidding. After much prayer and fasting, a church was started in the home of Sis. Leatha Foster, who lived on 8th Avenue in South Houston. She had a large garage, and that is where they had services. At that first church service, approximately ten members were present.
The attendance grew, and the congregation of this newly established group of believers moved into Sis. Foster’s living room. It wasn’t long until they needed a larger building in which to worship. Permission was granted to Bro. Bean and his group of believers to hold services at South Houston Elementary School, and they later moved their services to South Houston Intermediate School.
Through the anointed preaching of Bro. Verbal Bean and Sis. Bernice Bean, the church began to grow. As the congregation grew, their desire was to have a permanent place of worship that they could call their own. They began a building program, raising money to establish a work for the Lord.
The first money given to help purchase the lot for the church was donated by Sis. T. W. Long. She made corsages out of nylon stockings and sold them for this endeavor. Others made and sold aprons and quilts. The ladies of the congregation also made many cakes and pies to sell at bake sales to help purchase the first church property. During this interim time, before the church building was completed, services were held in a tent.
The first church building, a white frame 30 x 40 building, built in 1952, was located on Pennsylvania Avenue in South Houston. The name of the church was South Houston United Pentecostal Church.
Bro. Bean pastored until 1955, at which time the congregation consisted of approximately 110 members.
The new pastor, Rev. Charles Hurley, and his wife and daughter came to South Houston in 1955 and stayed until 1959. During this time, they worked for God, prayed and sought after His will. Prior to coming to South Houston, the Hurleys were great evangelists and singers. He had preached many revivals, one of which was held in Nacogdoches for Bro. K. W. Mott.
When Bro. Hurley became pastor, services were still being held in the church building that had been built on Pennsylvania Avenue in South Houston. During the time Bro. Hurley was pastor, another building was added on that property in 1958.
At the time of Bro. Hurley’s resignation as pastor, there was only one male member of the congregation, and that great man of God was Bro. T. W. Long, a faithful and wonderful Christian whom everyone loved until his crossing over to his reward.
Rev. Timothy Creel became pastor in August, 1959. Under the awesome leadership of Bro. and Sis. Creel, the church began to see growth. By the early 60’s the church membership had once again outgrown its building. Bro. Creel and the congregation began to fast and pray about relocating the church to larger facilities. At that time, five acres were purchased at 2630 Allen Genioa Road in Pasadena, and an enthusiastic congregation began working towards construction of a new building. In 1963 the church moved into its new facilities, where the church is now located. At that time, at the request of Bro. Creel, the name was changed to Apostolic Temple. The church continued to thrive under Bro. Creel’s leadership. His nine years as pastor of Apostolic Temple instilled into the saints faith and values from the word of God that still stand today. After leaving Apostolic Temple, Bro. Creel felt the Lord leading him to West Lake, Louisiana, where he pastored for many years.
After Bro. Creel’s resignation as pastor in 1968, Apostolic Temple requested that Bro. and Sis. Wayne McClain consider bringing their anointed ministry to Pasadena. At this same time, Bro. and Sis. McClain were praying for God’s will in their lives. They were both born and raised in East Texas, and after their marriage they had spent several years evangelizing and were currently pastoring in Beaumont, TX. After much prayer and seeking God’s will, Bro. McClain, at the age of 29, assumed the pastorate of Apostolic Temple in 1968.
Bro. & Sis McClain have three children: Darla, who is married to Gary Long, Orlin, who is married to the former Melody Nalley, and Gayla, who is married to Rev. Kelly Patrick, who pastors the Pentecostal Tabernacle in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Under Bro. and Sis. McClain’s leadership, the church added two educational buildings, a large Family Center, a private school for grades 1 through 12, a day care center, and helped establish three Spanish churches.
Bro. and Sis. McClain have always been examples of prayer and fasting. As a result, Apostolic Temple is a church that is steadfast and unwavering, walking in the old paths with the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
Since 2001 Bro. McClain and his son, Rev. Orlin McClain, have shared many of the responsibilities of pastoring. Orlin has been a part of Apostolic Temple his entire life, and his call to the ministry came at an early age. In preparation for that ministry, he attended Texas Bible College, and afterward accepted a call to Bellmead, Texas, where he was assistant pastor to Rev. Tim Daywitt, at the Bellmead United Pentecostal Church. Upon returning to Pasadena in 2001, Orlin assumed the duties of assisting his father, and Melody became music director and also principal of Apostolic Christian Academy. He and his wife, Melody have been married 20 years and have three children: Thomas, Caitlin and MaKenna.
In August of 2009 Bro. Orlin McClain became pastor of Apostolic Temple, and Bishop McClain assumed the position of Senior Pastor. During the pastoral installation service Rev. Wayne Huntley, from Raleigh, North Carolina, described this transition as “a promotion for both Rev. Wayne McClain and the newly installed pastor Rev. Orlin McClain.” He further explained that Rev. Wayne McClain will remain as Senior Pastor but this change in leadership will allow him the freedom to carry his ministry to other churches throughout the United States. Likewise, this “promotion” for Rev. Orlin McClain gives him the full responsibility of ministering to the congregation as well as the many activities that involve pastoring a group of people. At the conclusion of Rev. Huntley’s sermon, he placed a mantle on the shoulder of the new pastor. That mantle, which he had made specifically for this occasion, has written on it a paraphrase of Joshua 3:7 which says “And the Lord said unto Orlin, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of “Apostolic Temple” that they may know that, as I was with your father, I will be with thee.”
As the mantle was placed on the newly installed pastor, he and his family knelt at a bench which was from the original Apostolic Temple, that was founded in 1951 by Rev. Verbal Bean. Each minister present prayed for the family that the blessings from above that have been upon each pastor since 1951 will continue to overshadow the Orlin McClain family, and that those landmarks set years ago will remain in place in the years to come.
Rev. Orlin McClain continues to lead the congregation with the same zeal and the same commitment to prayer and fasting and bible reading and with the same anointing that has been a part of the church since its beginning.
