Our Church History
History of From the Heart Church Ministries of Charlotte
From the Heart Church Ministries of Charlotte is a part of From the Heart Church Ministries Worldwide™ (“From the Heart”). From the Heart began in 1981 as Full Gospel Church in Marlow Heights, Maryland with a call from God to the late Dr. John A. Cherry (1940 – 2019) and his wife, Reverend Diana P. Cherry. They established a church with a mission to build strong families through teaching the people to love God, hate sin and love to give. On July 8, 1999, Full Gospel withdrew from its former denomination and From the Heart was established. From the Heart is one church worldwide with a common Vision, Plan and Motivation extracted from the Word of God, based on the Word of God and subject to the Word of God.
At present, there are From the Heart churches located in each region of the United States and around the world, on six different continents. The current Episcopal Pastor, Bishop John A. Cherry, II is responsible for the spiritual, administrative and financial oversight of From the Heart. From the Heart Church Ministries of Charlotte was established on September 5, 2004.
On October 24, 2004, Reverend Quentin A. Smith was installed as pastor. Mrs. Sylvia Smith was later ordained on April 29, 2007. Under Pastor Smith’s leadership a full-service church was built. The church started from difficult circumstances to return the purchase price of the building to the Parent Church while leaving resources for the church to function. Under his leadership, a righteous standard was set, ministries were created and organized. Week after week, Pastor Emeritus Smith, Reverend Smith and faithful members served and loved one another as the church grew. Many building improvements were able to be made while the church still saved and worked to pay off the debt. For over 13 years, Pastor Emeritus Smith and Reverend Smith faithfully ministered and co-labored with the members of our church until their retirement in November 2017.
On November 26, 2017, Dr. Cherry installed Reverend Terence J. Jennings as the pastor. At that same time, Mrs. Kimberly Jennings was licensed as a minister in the church. Pastor Jennings, Minister Jennings and their three children (Kameron, Kaitlyn and Terence II) commuted weekly from Richmond, Virginia to Charlotte as members prayed for and cared for them while they traveled. They relocated to Charlotte in July 2018. On New Year’s Eve 2017, Pastor Jennings declared FTHCM of Charlotte as “A Church of Love Founded Upon Righteousness”. Since his appointment, several ministries have been created, many trainings and enrichment classes have been conducted to edify the church.
As the world suffered through a pandemic and churches closed, our faithful God blessed and kept us as we could not meet in person. Through the live stream of the Parent Church worship services, our Episcopal Pastor, Bishop John A. Cherry, II taught us God’s Word directly. Members faithfully gave, served, and met as we were able, and Pastor Jennings continued to provide leadership to the church. FTHCM of Charlotte started the live stream of local church services and began to press forward in the assignment to establish our local church. In 2023, the church began a total building and campus renovation project.
We are thankful to God that we are able to continue to serve Him together. FTHCM of Charlotte seeks to grow stronger in our witness of Christ and to grow in our fruitfulness, so that we can have generational success.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Revelation 4:11