Church History

In 1998, God called Dexter B. Oliver to the ministry of preaching and teaching the Gospel of Salvation for reaching lost souls. He believed so much in the saving power of God’s Word, that God blessed him with a vision to establish True Bible Christian Fellowship Ministry, whose primary mission would be to evangelize the lost. The fruit of this vision grew and developed over time into outreach and “door to door” evangelism.

In July 2004, God led Pastor Oliver to formally birth True Bible Christian Fellowship Church in southeast Houston. Having already submitted the formal 501(c)3 application, Pastor Oliver and his wife, Wendy, set out to implement the vision. During the months that followed, they evangelized the communities of Meadows of Clear Creek and Blackhawk. On Sunday, December 19, 2004, the first worship service was held, with the Richardson family, in the living room of the Oliver’s home. And, Sunday worship continued here through February 2005. When True Bible received its 501(c)3 designation as a Church, Sunday worship services moved to Weber Elementary, where the church set-up and broke down Sunday service elements every week. During this time, True Bible grew to include additional families. Then, God established a new home for True Bible.

In July 2005, True Bible Christian Fellowship Church moved to its current location. With the goal of sharing the Gospel in the community, the witnessing team went out into the community every month to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, God established the following ministries within the Church: Evangelism, Youth, Women’s Fellowship, Adult Choir, and the Usher Board. In 2012, True Bible expanded its footprint as the Church grew to include additional ministries: Young Adults and Men’s Fellowship. In 2018, God led Pastor Oliver to reset the Church – to prepare God’s people for new wine by choosing to become new wineskins.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17

No one at True Bible knew exactly what God was going to do to establish the new wineskins, but Pastor Oliver had FAITH that God was going to do something. On Sunday, September 2, 2018 Pastor Oliver suffered a stroke, and with the Church’s facility lease ending on September 30th, Pastor Oliver announced that the Church would close “for now and reopen at a future date”. And, while God brought True Bible to the edge of extinction, God did not allow True Bible to close its doors within the community. Instead, God finished what he began in January 2018. God sent over leadership in the form of Dr. Ivory L. Varner. Pastor Varner faithfully served the members of True Bible for six months to allow Pastor Oliver to recover. And, on March 31, 2019, God allowed Pastor Oliver to return to the helm and lead True Bible forward. What a mighty God we serve!

As the members of True Bible look forward to the work before them, they also acknowledge that God has called some faithful servants from True Bible as well: Deacon Winters, who led the first expedition to KAA and taught us what it means to have faith in Christ unto death; Sis. Shirley Mike, whose giving spirit established the plants that continue to thrive and decorate our foyer to this day; Sis. Renee’ O’Neal, who taught us that service is greater than man’s accolades; Sis. LaRue Anderson, who shared her laughter and joy with us each Sunday; Bro. Anthony Amanfor, who labored to introduce his children to Christ prior to his unexpected passing; Bro. Lee Brady, who always arrived with a spirit of praise in his heart and never let his circumstances dictate his level of faith in Christ; and, Bro. Peter Webb, who loved his choir and served his Church by playing the bass guitar for well over 12 years. While we miss them dearly, we honor God in remembering their legacies.

Pastor Dexter B. Oliver is joyfully wedded to his wife, Wendy D. Oliver, and they are blessed with two daughters, Tiffany Danielle and Alana Naomi.