The Germantown Evangelical Church was founded as the Germantown Church of God in Christ on September 1957 by Pastor Samuel J. Clark, Jr. at 400 East Ashmead Street in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, PA. Pastor Clark was led of the Lord, at the tender age of 22, to open a Pentecostal church in an area where none existed at the time. In a small storefront that seated only 50 people, Pastor Clark, Effie, his wife of two years, and his mother Daisy, embarked on a journey that would lead to many life-changing experiences, or as Pastor Clark would call them, "Red Seas". In the beginning, the going was tough as in any situation trying to build something from nothing. The church struggled to obtain new membership in the beginning and personal sacrifices of the Pastor, his family and the small congregation had to be made in order to help meet the needs of the church. At times, Pastor Clark would have only his wife to preach to, but conducting service as though there were many in the congregation. These types of sacrifices would contribute to the faith and character of the Pastor and church, qualities they would need in future endeavors serving the Lord. The Lord started to bless the ministry within the next seven years with the church growing in faith and in membership to the point it was deemed necessary to move to a larger facility.

In 1964, the church moved to a 125-seat facility located at 6130 Wister Street in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, PA. With the move to a larger building, new ministries and services were added to the weekly schedule including a live radio broadcast of the Sunday evening service. Also during this time the church?s music department was developed with the addition of a permanent organist and choir. Unlike the start of the Ashmead Street church, membership growth was immediate and consistent as the Pastor and church had a positive, godly influence on the neighborhood it was located in. As a result of God?s approval on the ministry, another move to a larger facility was once again deemed necessary.

On October 17, 1971, the church, now renamed the Germantown Evangelical Church, opened its doors to the public in a 700-seat facility that was a former Christian movie theater located in the same neighborhood as the Wister Street location at 1159 East Chelten Avenue. Pastor Clark invited his friend, Reverend Benjamin Smith, Founder and Pastor of Deliverance Evangelistic Church of Philadelphia, to conduct a revival to celebrate the first week at this new location. The next fourteen years saw the church, led by Pastor Clark, grow into a faith-believing juggernaut where miracles, signs and wonders took place and lives changed for the better. During this time, the live radio broadcast was expanded to a weekly half-hour program that featured choir singing, testimonies, and faith teaching and preaching that was a blessing to thousands across the Delaware Valley. Also during this time, the street ministry began with Pastor Clark and members of the Deacon Board going into the neighborhoods and shopping districts of Philadelphia to preach the Gospel of Christ to the masses. The church with great success was applying every aspect of the five-fold ministry. Souls were being won to Christ through the teaching, preaching, prophecy, and evangelizing of the Gospel. The sick visited in the hospital and their homes were being healed, demons cast out of possessed bodies, prisons being visited to preach the Gospel, the saints of God being perfected.

With these expanded ministries and more on the horizon, the Lord led the church on November 15, 1985, to purchase its present facility, at 6201 Old York Road in the West Oak Lane section of the city of Philadelphia, PA. This move into the 1100-seat former synagogue would accommodate all the ministries of the church and to expand into new ministries. These include a school and daycare, a cupboard to feed the hungry in the community, a half-hour television program that is broadcast into millions of homes in the Delaware Valley where people can call for prayer and counseling through the church?s toll free prayer line. With each new move come new challenges with great victories as the outcome. As the Germantown Evangelical Church continues to grow being led of the Lord, the future only looks bright.