Paragon Church of God of Prophecy:
A Brief History

The Paragon Region consists of churches in the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao), the British Virgin Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

The Church of God of Prophecy is a vibrant, thriving organization in the communities with a formidable past and glorious future. It traces its early beginning on St. Thomas to the historical date of January 1, 1926, at 2 a.m., when the first local church was organized personally by first General Overseer Bishop A. J. Tomlinson
with 16 charter members. Bro. Farnham served as Pastor at that time.

Services were conducted in a small building on Factory Street near Windward Passage Hotel. Like the early New Testament Church, this group of believers worked together with the same earnest mind and fervent spirit for the exact
great cause-the cause of Christ and the Church of God.

The group subsequently relocated to another building on Norre Gade near Roosevelt Park, where it functioned for a few years. With the blessings of the Almighty evident, it was soon necessary for the congregation to seek more extensive facilities.
Members secured a section of the Francois Building opposite
Chase Manhattan Bank on the Waterfront.
This area was popularly known as Fish Wharf.

Like everything else, the church experienced growing pains. It also struggled against numerous pressures, various opposition, and leadership problems. But “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (KJV). Through his guidance, this faithful body of believers surmounted the obstacles, survived the persecutions, and showed steady growth.

Then came the memorable Sunday of February 18, 1945, when an energetic young man named Moses Stephens joined the church. Brother Moses, who had earlier accepted Christ as his personal Savior with another religious group, testified that he had received a vision from the Lord confirming that the Church of God was indeed the church of the Bible. Later that year, he was appointed assistant pastor
by then-Pastor-Overseer Bishop A.L. Brooks.
The following year at the Annual General Assembly in Cleveland, Tennessee,
Brother Stephens was named Overseer of the church in the Virgin Islands. 

After several years of worshipping at Fish Wharf, an unforgettable rainstorm flooded the building. The annual convention of May 1960 was in progress, which propelled the members to initiate a major building program—spearheaded by Pastor Stephens and the Finance and Appropriations Committee. Negotiations led to the acquisition of land at #20 Gamle Gade, and with the full cooperation of the members and community, the church building and parsonage were soon erected.
By May 1961, exactly one year after the Fish Wharf flooding,
the construction of Gamle Gade was completed and dedicated.

Other churches had been organized in the British Virgin Islands at Long Look, Huntums Ghut, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada. Then came Christiansted, St. Croix, in 1958. Additional churches were organized in the BVI and then Frederiksted, St. Croix, as well as at #262 Hospital Ground on November 28, 1974, and at C5 Hoffman on August 26, 1980, in St. Thomas. As God prospered the work and dedication of His people, more churches were organized in the neighboring islands.
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, became the springboard for the other islands.

In 1978 under the leadership of Bishop Rufus Rogers, the region consisted of the Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands, and Surinam. In 2006 a change was made during the administration of Bishop Aludus Todman. The region was reorganized to comprise of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and the British and US Virgin Islands, forming this region, formerly known as the Northeast Caribbean Region. There are twenty churches in the region. The USVI (St. Thomas and St. Croix) district has four churches and a Spanish mission located in Christiansted, St. Croix. The BVI (Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda) district has eleven churches, and there are five churches, plus a mission in the ABC Islands district. After taking office on September 1, 2020, Bishop Dr. Carswell Leonard renamed the Northeast Caribbean Region the Paragon Region. To understand his thought process behind this name change and other pertinent information about the Paragon Region,
please feel free to visit our Mission/Vision page.

The founding church at #20 Gamle Gade on St. Thomas, which was the springboard for the expansion of the churches into the Eastern Caribbean, was the largest in the region for many years until the construction of the tabernacle complex at C-5 Hoffman in 1979. The Gamle Gade and C5 Hoffman congregations recently merged
to form the Oasis Church of God of Prophecy.
This complex also houses the regional headquarters.

This region, in its various forms, has been served by the following presbyters, previously called overseers
[Source: Church Historian, CGP International Offices (ALV) ~ February 4, 2021]: