Pastors Ernest & Brenda Sewell
Some people stand out because of their economic power and clout. Others stand out because of their talent and nobility of birth. Some gain power through their social and political connections. But Pastors Ernest M. and Brenda J. Sewell stand out as a husband and wife team not because of clout, career, or connections. But rather they are extraordinary because of God’s calling and anointing on their lives.
God called them into His ministry after having blessed them with successful careers in business and public education. For many years they served as ministers of the Gospel at Christian Life Church, Patterson Avenue and Liberty Road, Baltimore, Maryland, under the pastorship of Rev. J. Luther Carroll. While at Christian Life they directed the Evangelism Ministry and served faithfully in other ministries of the church.
A former teacher and principal in the Baltimore City Schools, Pastor Brenda in 1993 realized a long held dream when God enabled her and Pastor Ernest to open the Maranatha Christian Daycare & Learning Center at 3523 Ellen Road, Baltimore, Maryland, where young children, ages three months through kindergarten, could grow not only physically and academically, but spiritually as well. Through much prayer and hard work, the Sewells fashioned Maranatha into the premier Christian learning center in the area, offering a strong thematically based, academically challenging curriculum which included state of the art technology and the teaching of Christian principles such as kindness, love, trust and self-control. In 2009 the Sewells closed their daycare center and are forever grateful to God for the hundreds of youngsters entrusted to their care and whose lives were blessed by having received their early education in a Christian learning environment.
In 2002, while they where still ministering to children as operators of their day care center, God brought to pass the vision He had birthed within the Sewells’ hearts. On September 7th of that year New Solid Rock Fellowship Church was chartered, and the Sewells were called to serve as founding pastors. Through a variety of ministries focusing on the development and maturing of the total individual, New Solid Rock Fellowship Church is committed to meeting the spiritual and natural needs of 21st century Christians.
The Sewells are proud parents and grandparents. They are God’s messengers. No task is too lowly and no challenge too big. Philippians 4:13 is their daily nourishment: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” They are counselors, teachers, preachers, prayer warriors, and students of God’s Word. They have a special burden for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ on the streets and in the neighborhoods of Baltimore City and surrounding areas.
Pastor Brenda says, “Don’t be surprised if you happen to see us one day in your neighborhood, along with other faithful witnesses of the Lord, handing out tracts, sharing the salvation story, or praying with someone in need.” God has opened the doors for them to minister on the streets of Baltimore, in churches, over the airwaves, in prisons, in hospitals and nursing homes, and to bring revivals into homes. ”We take God’s ‘Great Commission’ in Matthew 28:19-20, to spread the Gospel everywhere we can, very seriously,” says Pastor Ernest. ”Where He leads us, we will follow. We’ll go with Him all the way.”
Pastor Terrye Ashby
Rev. Terrye Ashby accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior in 1971 and as she grew in the knowledge and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ, she sought and subsequently received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. She is an avid student of God’s Word. She has shared the Gospel in churches and nursing homes and at special women’s events, and she even figured out a way to present The Word during a multicultural celebration at her workplace. She has used her gifts of ministry and leadership in various ways to the glory of God, ministering to youth and women through serving as a Member, Youth Leader and member of the Scholarship Ministry at Christian Life Church, as Assistant Director of the Sisters in Christ – Victorious Ones Women’s Ministry, as Director of Sisters of Substance Women’s Ministry, as Minister, Trustee, and Advisor to the Talitha Cumi (Tee Cee) Girls and TC Teens Ministries, and the Lifted Love Banner Ministry at New Solid Rock Fellowship Church. A 1981 graduate of Tuskegee University, she has also completed The Women Minister’s Bible Study Training and Preaching course under Pastor Gail Baisden of the Center for Evangelism. She completed the Preaching, Teaching, and Leadership (PTL) minister’s training program at New Solid Rock Fellowship Church as well as the Divine Discipleship for Sisters Study Program. She is currently enrolled at St. Mary’s Seminary pursuing her Master’s Degree in Ministry and has traveled on mission trips to Albania, Greece, Turkey, and Israel. She has felt God guiding her into His service as a Minister through the various experiences He has brought into her life. She accepted her call to ministry in 2004 and has told God that she is available for His use as He wills. God has given her a vision for the future establishment of a Virtuous Women’s Institute. She says her calling is summed up in the Scriptures from Isaiah 49:1-6 and Titus 2:3-5. Rev. Ashby is the proud mother of two sons, James and Maurice.
