In Loving Memory Of
Bishop George L. Steanres, H.D.D., Emeritus
Bishop George L. Stearnes was the second of four children born to the union of Anthony Sr. and Clifford (Phillips) Stearnes on July 25, 1923, in Gadsden, Alabama. He moved to Gary, Indiana, with his family when he was two years old. He was a 1944 graduate of Roosevelt High School, also in Gary, Indiana.
He met the love of his life, Myrtis L. Smith, of Phenix City, Alabama, while attending Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, Georgia. They had a very brief courtship of less than three months, and on June 20, 1945, they were united in holy matrimony at the courthouse in Phenix City, Alabama. Shortly after their wedding, Bishop Stearnes was drafted into the United States Army and served in Fort Benning, Georgia, and Nuremberg, Germany. While he was in Germany, his young bride stayed at Clark College and graduated in 1946.
After returning to the United States, a young George and Myrtis moved to Gary, Indiana, where they lived briefly with his parents. His mother was a member of the Apostolic Faith Church, a storefront assembly located at 1634 Monroe Street. It was there, during a service on Thanksgiving Day in 1946, that George and Myrtis heard the voice of the Lord, repented of their sins, and were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. At the time, the pastor of the church was his father's brother, Elder James (Stearnes) Vaughn, known to the family as "Uncle Jim".
During the years between 1946 and 1963, a young Brother Stearnes served in the following capacities of the church: Member, Sunday School Teacher, Assistant Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School Superintendent, Deacon, Trustee, Youth Leader, District Youth Leader, and Minister.
Under the leadership of Elder John H. Sanders, the church relocated to its present site, 1513 Polk Street, Gary, Indiana. In 1963, Minister Stearnes was elected to succeed Elder Sanders as Pastor. Pastor Stearnes, then, changed the name of the church to the Logan Park Assembly of Christ, Inc., which was derived from the legal name of the geographical location in which the church is situated.
Under the leadership of Pastor Stearnes, the church was rebuilt, expanded, and dedicated in 1972. The mortgage was paid in full within four years in 1976, and was celebrated with a mortgage-burning ceremony. With an ever-growing membership, further remodeling was completed in 1988 and was celebrated with a rededication ceremony on February 7, 1988. In 1997, additional expansion was done, and on April 13, 1997, the Christian Education Wing was dedicated with Bishop Morris E. Golder as speaker. On May 30, 2013, Bishop Stearnes was honored for fifty years of pastoral service. The Christian Education Wing was renamed the Bishop George L. Stearnes Education Wing.
Bishop Stearnes was blessed with the additional titles of District Elder, Suffragan Bishop, Bishop Emeritus, and Honorary Doctor of Divinity (HDD), conferred on him on October 27, 2019, by the honorable Bishop Lawrence Brown Jr. and Evangelist Tanya Brown, administrators of the International Association of Apostolic Apologists Institute of Theology, and pastors of the Bethesda Temple Church of Alton, Illinois.
For fifty-five years and eight months, Bishop devotedly served as pastor of the Logan Park Assembly of Christ before he installed his successor, Elder Jeffery E. Allen, on January 13, 2019. Following his retirement, Bishop Stearnes continued to serve the saints as a pastoral counselor until the onset of the 2020 pandemic.
On February 20, 2023, at the age of 99 years old, the Lord called Bishop Stearnes from labor to reward. His life of unwavering faith, dedicated service, and steadfast leadership leaves a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.