Pastor: Bishop Herbert C. Heyward
Bishop Herbert C. Heyward is the pastor of Refuge Bibleway Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.
Profile of Bishop Herbert C. Heyward
Herbert C. Heyward, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Elizah Heyward, was placed on this earth for a purpose. He was born and raised in South Carolina, attending public schools.
In the year 1950, Herbert Heyward married his greatest supporter, Inez Seabrook. With this union, the Lord blessed them to conceive 12 children, of which 10 are still living today. He is further blessed to have from these children a host of grand and great grand children.
In the year of 1956, the Lord decided that he wanted a man that would stand for him regardless of what comes or goes. He found that man in Herbert C. Heyward. The Lord allowed him to enter into a bed of affliction for three months and fifteen days. During that time, the Lord gave him his ministry, letting him know that he was no longer of himself, but he belonged to God. He was all ready baptized in the name Lord Jesus Christ, but had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
After coming out of the hospital, being just like Jonah, he didn't stop running until the Lord filled him with the Holy Ghost. Ever since that day, he has been doing the will of God.
He received the gift of the Holy Ghost under the late Elder Archie Woods in the little church that sits at 133 Congress Street called Refuge Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Brother Heyward served under Pastor Woods very faithfully, visiting the sick, having services in the prison, and was one of the first ministers to ever hold a revival in the prison. The City of Charleston knows him as the Common Denominator.
Later down the years, Pastor Woods decided to have him ordained as a deacon of the church. While serving as a deacon, the Lord completely revealed his calling in the ministry. During his trial sermon, God stamped his approval on him by filling a soul with the Holy Ghost. From that night on, God has been proving Himself through His servant over and over again.
In the year of 1962, during our National Convocation in New York, Bishop William L. Bonner said that he needed a man. Elder Archie Woods replied that Elder Herbert C. Heyward was the one. Elder Heyward was sent to Bibleway Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it was called then, and there he has served faithfully!
After returning home from New York, he decided to come and see the place where he was sent. After gathering all the saints that belonged to the church, he told them of God's vision - "For without a vision, the people will surely perish."
God allowed Pastor Heyward to use school boys along with his sons to put a roof on the building, walls in the sanctuary, build woman and man restrooms, dining area, and a kitchen. He and the members served well there until the Lord said it was time to build a new sanctuary. The Lord gave Pastor Heyward a vision of the new church in which he drew on a card board box in the year of 1982. It was taken to the architect which supplied the blue print, while he prayed and sought guidance from the Lord. With limited finances and a few members, Pastor Heyward broke ground for the church in 1983. Within nine months, the saints along with their pastor, marched into their new edifice, built without mortgage!
Many souls have been saved throught the preaching of the gospel under Pastor Heyward's ministry and have been inspired to continue on in Jesus name!
Pastor Heyward is the only minister in South Carolina that was allowed to take a prisoner from one jailhouse and bring them to another to have services. He was even allowed to take them from prison to the church for service as well! He also was the only minister allowed in the prisons to preach the gospel during the peak of segregation.
Pastor Heyward was ordained a Bishop in the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ during the Holy Convocation in Charleston, West Virginia and he is continuing the work of the Lord in Summerville, South Carolina. Within a few days, he will be holding the dedication services for the new Mother Inez Heyward Educational Center built next to Refuge Bibleway Church in memory of the late Mother Inez Heyward. This building too is built without mortgage and as Pastor Heyward always says, his motto is "To Owe No Man Nothing But Love".
