The Door of Faith Church was organized and incorporated in Hawaii in 1940 by Sister Mildred Brostek and some of her faithful friends. It started as a Faith Movement and it continues the same way even today. Over the years the church started to grow in the Hawaiian Islands and hundreds of churches were established in the Philippines and New Zealand. (Today we have many Door of Faith ministries even in India.) By the direction of the Holy Spirit, Sister Brostek started a work in New York in 1977 where she bought a building at the present location. At that time it was known as “The Singers Hall” and that’s the building we are using today as The First Door of Faith Church.
The first pastors were Rev. and Mrs. Rayburn. They labored faithfully in the vineyard of the Lord till 1982. In that year Rev. Dr. M.S. Samuel who was pastoring the Miracle Temple in Chicago (a work under the late R.W. Shambach) was asked to take over The First Door of Faith Church in Flushing.
Pastor Samuel is a native of Kerala State, India. He came to this country for biblical studies. He studied at the Long Island Bible Institute in Oyster Bay Long Island, Olivet Nazarene College in Kankakee, Illinois; North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois; and Church of Christ Bible College in NYC. Upon receiving his degrees, (B.A., M.Th. and an honorary Doctorate from New Life Theological Seminary, Kerala, India) he was fully engaged in evangelistic work. In 1968 the Lord used him and a few others to organize the India Christian Assembly over which he served as pastor for seven years. Today by the grace of God there are a number of Indian Pentecostal Churches in the U.S. and Canada. In 1970, Pastor Samuel founded the International Evangelistic Association for the purpose of reaching the unreached with the gospel. Over the years this association has been a tool to help so many financially.
The First Door of Faith Church is a full gospel church proclaiming Jesus as Lord.
Pastor Sharon, the daughter of Rev. Dr. and Mrs. M.S. Samuel grew up in The First Door of Faith Church as did her talents, spiritual gifts, grace and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ. She held leadership roles in Choir, Youth Ministry, Sunday School, Children’s Church, and Worship Team.
Pastor Sharon followed a course of serious academic work from her youth. After graduating Salutatorian and receiving the Pro Deo et Schola “For God and School” Award from Martin Luther High School, she went on to Queens College where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in Elementary Education and Sociology. From there she pursued her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition she took some courses through ORU Bible Institute Online.
The Lord enabled her to teach four years at The Louis Armstrong Middle School as a sixth grade teacher and transferred her love of teaching to teaching and preaching God’s Word. God gave her the grace to raise two sons who are both serving the Lord. She gives a message of hope to families and to broken hearts looking for answers. She authored a book called Youth Ministry in the Small Urban Church which is available at church. She has also written a number of worship songs which are sung on a regular basis during our services. The Lord used her to minister to people in India and throughout various places in America. Everyone is encouraged to be inspired by her blog at www.godcares4u2.com
In 2012, Sharon Samuel-Varghese was ordained as the Minister of the church. On June 6, 2015 Sharon was ordained as the Senior Pastor of The First Door of Faith Church. At that time, Rev.Dr. M.S. Samuel was designated in his new position as Pastor Emeritus.
Her vision for the church is all Bible based and can be summed up in three words: Relationship, Discipleship and Service. Her prayer is that everyone enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, be discipled and live their lives in service to the King of Kings. She covets the prayers of many and is grateful for all those who genuinely show love and support for this great work of God.