Revival Center Church | Chicago, IL

In 1931, the late Bishop Jesse Douglas Smith, D.D., and his brother the late Reverend Jason Thomas Smith founded the early Church on the simple premise of worldwide Christian leadership—changing ordinary people into extraordinary leaders of tomorrow.

Bishop Jesse Douglas Smith, D.D. (1897 - 1970)

On July 6, 1897, Jesse Douglas Smith, one of ten children, was born to John and Annie Smith of Pittsboro, Mississippi where at an early age he accepted Christ.

Bishop Smith was a faithful servant of God, receiving his late training at the Chicago Academy of Science and the University of Illinois. He was also considered by many to have the “spiritual gift of healing” and “one of the nation’s foremost Pentecostal ministers.”

During the later years of his ministry, he served daily with Bishop S. M. Crouch at the historic Lincoln Theater (renamed Crouch’s Temple) in Los Angeles, California. He also authored several books on faith, hope, and deliverance.

“His dynamic messages arouse such faith in his hearers that thousands have been healed of all manner of sickness and diseases sitting in their seats,” reported a 1946 Church publication. By all measures, Bishop Smith was an outstanding man of God.

Reverend Jason Thomas Smith (1905 - 1987)

On October 18, 1905, Jason Thomas Smith, the youngest of ten children, was born to John and Annie Smith of Pittsboro, Mississippi where at an early age he accepted Christ.

Later, he pursued his childhood dream and completed his formal education in St. Louis, Missouri and returned to Mississippi to teach school.

On March 4, 1933, Mollie Ann McKee, a former student of his, became his bride. He and Mollie moved to Chicago, Illinois where they raised a family of seven children, including two boys and five daughters. (His oldest son Jason T. Smith, Jr., preceded him in death in 1968.)

Under the pastorage of his oldest brother, the late Bishop J.D. Smith, Reverend Smith received his call to the ministry and served as associate minister.

Later, the Bishop J.D. Smith moved to California and Rev. Smith assumed the leadership of the Revival Center Church as Pastor until his death in 1987 when his oldest daughter, the Reverend Mildred L. Grant assumed the leadership of the Revival Center Church as Pastor.

Pastor, shepherd, and spiritual father to his congregation were all responsibilities faithfully carried out by the late Rev. Smith until his death.