Arturo Skinner - Evangelism

Evangelism

He graduated from the Institute and was ordained as an evangelist on Palm Sunday, 1952 and soon after started holding evangelistic services and tent meetings. Many people that came to his services were healed as countless miracles began to occur.

After three and a half years the people who supported his meetings insisted that Arturo locate a church home. The church began simply by holding meetings in the home of Mother Mary Armarty. As the power of God worked through Apostle Skinner, the congregation soon outgrew her living room and moved to a storefront on Pershing Avenue in Newark, New Jersey, then to Springfield Avenue, which also became too small.

The congregation outgrew several other locations including the Masonic Temple at 188 Belmont Avenue before they marched, one Sunday morning, into a new building, the Central Avenue Theatre, at 505 Central Avenue in Newark. The Theatre became the Newark Deliverance Evangelistic Center's first headquarters, holding about 1500 people. Deliverance was being born, though Apostle Skinner still hesitated to put a pattern or formula to his ministry.

Meanwhile there was still a need for ministry to continue in Brooklyn. So Apostle Skinner conducted Saturday night Deliverance rallies, beginning first at 182 Gates Avenue. As in Newark, the swelling attendance kept forcing the rallies to still larger accommodations; eventually they were moved into the Bedford Street YMCA.

Finally, Reverend Skinner ventured forth and bought another theatre building, the old Kismet Theatre at 785 DeKalb Avenue. The Kismet held close to 2,000 people, and soon it too was holding packed services. Renamed The Deliverance Tabernacle, it was purchased to accommodate weekly services, house church staff, the printing ministry, and the other mechanics of what was now growing into an international ministry. The vision of Deliverance was expanding in Arturo Skinner’s mind as he continued to seek God’s counsel for the future. In 1957 he was inspired to create the Deliverance Evangelistic Centers, Inc., Worldwide. He said, "Deliverance is not as an organization, but an organism of the Body of Christ."

The man who once so desperately needed saving, was now responsible – through the message of deliverance – for saving countless thousands of lives by transmitting his own powerful belief of salvation to his huge flock. This sizable feat was being accomplished through weekly services, and the weekly DEC radio broadcast, which was embraced by people in the United States as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean Islands. Outreach was also accomplished through various huge Crusade caravans that traveled cross-country. DEC outreach ministry spread throughout the world, because of Pastor Skinner's heartfelt desire to "reach and win 10 million souls in every corner of the world for Christ" with the message of Deliverance. Apostle Skinner made history when he rented Madison Square Garden in New York City and preached to a capacity crowd.

On April 28, 1963 Apostle Arturo Skinner, alongside his friend and brother Reverend Charles Miles, Pastor of International Gospel Center in Ecorse, Michigan, were consecrated to the office of Apostle by Reverend J. L. Alaman. The Deliverance Ministry was growing and would eventually include between 40 and 50 affiliated churches worldwide.

In 1973 DEC Ministries purchased its present headquarters church, the former Temple B’nai Abraham at 621 Clinton Avenue, in the Clinton Hill section of Newark, New Jersey. Apostle Skinner paid over $1,000,000 in cash to the B’nai Abraham Congregation. Deliverance now had room to grow as the main sanctuary seated 2,000 people. Apostle Skinner’s vision was flourishing: God’s deliverance was indeed taking the land.