Maranatha Chapel Fellowship History
Maranatha Chapel Fellowship was founded during a prayer meeting that took place at the residence of Pastor Stephenson in 1992. The desire to continue to meet for fellowship, prayer and testimonials developed into Maranatha Chapel Fellowship. Maranatha shared various facilities over the past 21 years with its longest stay being 13 years at 4459 Douglas Street, NE, Washington DC, 20019. Maranatha Chapel Fellowship held services at the Righteous Church of God Chapel building until 2012.
Vision: Cup and Saucer
The Lord gave Pastor Stephenson a vision of
the church in relation to the ministry of Maranatha Chapel Fellowship. The church is
like a tea cup for the saints of Christ. It is separated unto the service of the Lord. The
issue is that some in the church lose their balance and fall out of the traditional church.
Maranatha Chapel Fellowship is the saucer of the church. Maranatha’s purpose is to help
catch those that have fallen out of the traditional church and assist wounded believers in gaining spiritual strength by
sharing the truth of the Word and the hope in Jesus Christ
Purpose: To Know, Grow and Go
While the vision for Maranatha Chapel Fellowship is that of catching, the purpose of
Maranatha is that of returning to a proper relationship. To Know, Grow and Go is the
how Maranatha accomplishes this task. To Know emphasizes the need to learn the Word
of God, how to have a proper relationship Jesus Christ and how to have a proper relationship with others in the body of Christ. To Grow emphasizes the walking in
God’s calling by recognizing and exercising the gifts and talents that each believer
possesses. To Go emphasizes the need for each believer to return to the traditional
church healed so that they can help others. Maranatha is non-membership and only
desires that the fellowship enables the body of Christ to function properly.