Our History

Our History

In the fall of 1988 Dr. Juan Williams, Sr. Faith Ministries and Ontario Christian Center were birthed in the natural from a supernatural seed contained in the heart of God before the foundation of the world. God had spoken into Dr. Williams’ heart four years earlier while he was vacationing in Kauai, Hawaii, “Feed my lamb, feed my sheep and tend to them. Set men free through the knowledge of Jesus Christ!” After receiving confirmation from godly men of faith and integrity, Dr. Williams took a giant leap of faith with the support of his wife and family, and thus began a journey that continues today. Finding favor with the Foursquare denomination and in the midst of opposition and resistance, Dr. Williams founded his outreach ministries beginning with home study groups. In November 1988 the first church service was held at the Ontario Hilton. Later a second room at that location was reserved for Children’s Church, and so began the explosion of growth.

On many occasions our faith was tested when, due to overbooking, the Hilton management arbitrarily moved our services to different rooms and even failed to provide our ministry with the two rooms we requested. The frustration of natural inconvenience was a spur that helped to rip open the supernatural, and our ministry moved from the Hilton into an industrial park less than one year later, where we leased two offices, including a huge warehouse that became our new sanctuary. God was honoring our man of God and OCC continued to grow and flourish! With Dr. Williams at the helm, those warehouse offices became a church facility of excellence rivaling any conventional church setting, and daily God added such as should be saved to our fellowship.

As our membership grew in faith and number under the strong leadership of Dr. Williams, we purchased our first conventional church facility in the spring of 1998, and moved into our 1336 North Baker Avenue location. OCC was a beacon in a community that was plagued by crime - where seeing police cars and hearing sirens were a common occurrence. However, as the uncompromising Word of God strengthened our membership and improvements were made to our property, those values and attributes began to be reflected in the surrounding community. Bit by bit the neighborhood began to change. OCC was impacting and changing the lives of God’s people dramatically and it was evident in the surrounding community.

The growth of our ministry was not without challenge, and in July 2000 an arsonist set fire to our sanctuary that caused tremendous damage. However, that act of the enemy did not stop the Word from going forth or lessen the life-changing impact on the lives of God’s people. We held church services in tents while rebuilding our sanctuary and the people flooded in. Many came out of curiosity, but many more stayed because of the Word, and OCC continued to grow. What the enemy had meant for evil God turned to good, and our ministry prospered.

In June 2002 our OCC family suffered the greatest test of our faith with the passing of our first matriarch. Our church family was devastated, but through much prayer and diligence to stay in the Word of God we persevered and came back even stronger. In our darkest hour, God was faithful. Dr. Williams continued to minister the truth of God’s Word, and seeing his courage and strength, our membership grew stronger also.

In November 2003 Ontario Christian Center was blessed by God with our second matriarch, who was an answer to prayer. Once again the enemy failed to keep us down, and the vision of “Setting men free through the knowledge of Jesus Christ” continued to flourish.

In 2010 we will celebrate 22 years of excellence in ministry as liberators setting men free from the shackles of bondage and degradation. On any given Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday, Dr. Williams’ voice rings out with the liberating message of Jesus, and anyone willing to receive it will find their life changed forever. God has given Dr. Williams a voice for the nations, and he continues to reach the lost through our Dr. Juan Williams, Sr. Faith Ministries outreach and the Word going forth at our home church. On any given Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, Our First Lady, Mrs. Tracy L. Williams, leads outreach teams into the local community - knocking on doors to win souls to Jesus Christ and make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Together they are faithful soldiers leading this congregation to victory.

Dr. Juan and Mrs. Tracy L. Williams are shining examples of servants whose lives are sold out for God and they have much fruit as a testimony to their loyalty, commitment, and dedication to the work the Kingdom. The OCC family continues to follow their strong leadership and example, and we have high expectations to win the nations for God’s glory. The journey has only begun and our second, third and fourth campuses loom gloriously before us as we push forward towards our great city. He who has promised is faithful, and our history is still being written today. We invite YOU to be a part of what God is doing at Ontario Christian Center, where your life will be changed forever!