The Beginning

“Four years after I was saved I began to have a desire... to work with people to grow in the Lord.” Bishop John Leighton
All things have their start. Amazing Grace Church began in 1980 when John Leighton, a member of the Greater Upper Room Church in Middletown, NY began to feel God’s pull on him to help people. The pull was towards the not so friendly place... Newburgh. In the 1980’s the City of Newburgh was quickly decaying, crime rates were rising, and segregation was still prevalent. The City was desperately in need of God's presence.

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The First Year
“By the end of the first year we had only two consistent members.” -Bishop John Leighton
The first service was held in a modest room rented at a very reasonable price,right off of Broadway. “There were probably about 16 people there,” Overseer Linda Leighton said. “It seemed packed out because of the tiny room.” Pastor Leighton ran the church out of this humble establishment for about a year before the Lord handed him the gift of a building.

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From Abortions to Amazing
In 1981 the doctor of an abortion clinic wanted to donate his office to a charitable organization. The Leighton’s real estate agent immediately thought of the church and phoned them, asking if they would like a building. It was a gift from God. Ironically the place that took life would be the very same place that gave eternal life.

The Leighton’s then prayed for a name and God gave them the name Amazing Grace. They moved into their new church and held their first service with a total of two people in attendance. Times were discouraging.

Letters of disconnect were given to the church, people criticized, and very few came at first. But Bishop Leighton knew this was a calling of God and pressed forward.

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God is Here
“I had a supernatural healing by God... and I’ll never forget that.” Evang. Elder Jacqueline Carruthers
The Leighton’s continued continued preaching the gospel and people started getting saved. Many who flocked to Amazing Grace were in need of just that...grace. The issues varied from abuse to drug and alcohol addictions and a lot of inner city life difficulties. By 1990, attendance at a Sunday service was well over 100 and growing. God’s presence was prevalent at Amazing Grace Church. People were being filled with the Holy Ghost, healed, delivered, and restored.

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Amazing Grace Church is a multicultural integrated church. Here we find all races, all classes, different backgrounds and more. The spectrum of God’s body is seen here. But it didn’t just happen.
Amazing Grace Church paved the way for a lot of the spiritual activity seen today. Through persistent prayer, perseverance, and obedience to God’s word, the first generation laid out a foundation for the next. The task is to continue the work of God. Continue grounded and settled in the faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature under heaven.