Biography of Bishop Marcia Pitts
Bishop Marcia E. Pitts was born to the late Bishop Josephine and Leslie Jones and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. She was married to the late Elder Joseph Pitts in 1961. She is the fantastic mother of four grown children and five delightful grandchildren.
An Honor Roll student throughout school, Marcia graduated from Wilmington’s Howard High School in 1956 at the age of 18. After graduation, she entered her freshman year at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. Being a PK (preacher’s kid), she longed to escape the teachings of the church and this new found freedom provided the opportunity.
During the second semester of her sophomore year, Marcia began to feel ill; thinking she had the flu she went to the college infirmary. She started having fainting spells everyday. Eventually she became too ill to continue with school and had to withdraw. Her mother, Bishop Josephine Jones, being a God filled woman, recognized that something was seriously wrong with Marcia. Because she did not have medical insurance, her Pastor paid for Marcia to see a doctor. After undergoing a series of blood tests, this physician determined that Marcia was infected with a rare blood disorder. The doctor informed her not to be so upset over withdrawing from school, stating that had she not come home when she did, she would have been brought home in a pine box (coffin). Left untreated, this rare blood disorder was so severe it would have killed her. Young Marcia was bedridden from February to June of that year, unable to bathe, dress, or feed herself. In spite of the circumstances, Bishop Jones and the saints prayed daily for her healing. In June, the prayers of the righteous availed, and Marcia recovered from the disorder.
Her healing seemed to be the catalyst for the omnipresence of God and His faithfulness to answer prayers of the righteous concerning the life of Bishop Marcia Pitts. Romans 8:28 declares that”…all things work together for good to them that love God and to them who are the called to His purpose and evidently, Marcia was among the called to His purpose. During a Youth Convention held in Boston, Massachusettsin 1958, she found herself surrendering her life to God and yielding to His call with “one eternal YES to the Lord.”
Under the leadership of Bishop Amy B. Stevens, President of the Mount Sinai Holy Churches of America, Marcia Pitts became very active in her local assembly, serving in many capacities including Church organist, Superintendent of Sunday School, Janitor, Youth Pastor, Pastor’s Adjutant, and Church Secretary. Marcia was elevated to a Missionary on December 28, 1972. September 30, 1977 Missionary Pitts was ordained a Minister, than in September 1983 an Evangelist. Evangelist Marcia Pitts was ordained an Elder on August 23, 1992.
In 1992, Elder Marcia Pitts fulfilled a 12-year prophecy and began the Church on the Rock Ministries, Inc., conducting their first bible study with seven people in the home of her daughter, Linda Latimer. When Bishop was an evangelist, she would always introduce herself as the Pastor of Church on the Rock Ministries, therefore, when a name was to be selected for the ministry, the congregants unfalteringly adopted its preordained name Church on the Rock Ministries, Inc. As the ministry prospered, church services were moved to the basement of Bishop’s home. In just a short while, Elder Pitts along with her husband, the late Elder Joseph Pitts and their congregation of twenty-two faith-filled members relocated to the old Opera House in old New Castle to accommodate the souls desiring to become part of this ministry.
After hearing a word from the Lord with a promise to bless them that day, the Pitts, received a phone call within hours concerning the availability of the building at28 Queen Avenue, where the church is presently located. Because God honors the faith of His people who willingly obey Him, the church was able to raise the down payment without selling a single chicken dinner. Furthermore, God enabled Church on the Rock to pay off the mortgage completely within 5 years of the purchase date.
In 1995, Elder Pitts received her doctorate from Jameson Bible College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A chosen and anointed vessel, God elevated Dr. Pitts to the Bishopric on October 2, 1999. A godly woman whose life is encompassed with prayer and devotion, Bishop Pitts currently oversees five churches – Prayer Temple Church on the Rock – Pastor James Price, Sr., New Birth Ministries – Pastor Francine Baise, Church on the Rock East – Pastors Emmitt & Linda Latimer, Refreshing Fountain – Pastor James Payne, Upper Room Blood Washed Church – Pastor Vanessa Ushery. The progressively evolving vision of her God-led ministry includes incorporating the use of multimedia communication (television, radio, and establishing various shelters and instituting the J.L. Jones Christian School.
Most recently, the Lord directed Bishop Pitts to conduct “Monthly Healing Services. As always, He has been in the midst, using this devoted woman’s obedience and humility to perform signs, wonders and miracles. Because of her persistent belief that praise, worship, and daily prayer is a key element to having an intimate connection with God, Bishop Marcia Pitts is one of Delaware’s most dynamic women preachers whose fundamental teachings and lifestyle has brought her to the forefront “for such a time as this”.