2001 - Present

[Late] Pastor C. A. Berry revamped the brotherhood, missionary society and youth department—creating the Men's Ministry, the Women's Ministry, and the Youth Ministry. New directors and advisors have been appointed and the departments are continuing to grow and prosper in God's Word and in the community.  

January 1, 2001: Pastor C. A. Berry passed from labor to reward. He was laid to rest at Houston National Cemetery on January 8, 2001. The 37-1/2 years he served this church family will live in the hearts of all the members here. The baton once again has been passed.   God prepared a new shepherd right here within our midst so that we would not have to go out to find one.

 January 7, 2001: We called our own beloved son Rev. Harrell R. Berry to be our spiritual leader.  On Sunday, March 25, 2001, we installed Rev. H. R. Berry as our new pastor. We are grateful for this new leadership and know that if we let God lead us we will continue to be a great church family.

 Through the years, New Mount Carmel has suffered its share of troubles and losses.  There are many members who have indeed gone on to glory, some of whom we lost in 2005.  But there are also some who have been here almost since the birth of this great church in 1948. Sis. Nellie Thomas, Sis. Effie Harris, Sis. Hershie Lee Willis, and Sis. Lizzie Carter have all been present to see New Mount Carmel grow from just a handful of members to the wonderful mass that we have today.  These Christian soldiers have watched us go from a one-room building that does not exist anymore to a structure that is valued at more than two million dollars.  They have seen us as a church where as many as five generations of families worship together each Sunday year after year.  They have worked along with each new generation throughout the entire time.

 September 23, 2001, the installation of the cornerstone for our new structure was leveled by:    St. James Lodge No. 429 A. F. & A. M., Ill. Floyd D. Hopkins 33° W. M., Bro. Tommy Callier 32° Secy., Working Under United Most Worshipful Scottish Rite, Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of Texas, Inc., R.W. Terry Howard 33° Grand Master

 April 28, 2002, we burned the mortgage note that we carried for many years on this sanctuary. Assisting in this effort were many of the remaining early members of the church, and Mr. John Scroggins, then Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, playing a major part in the financing of our sanctuary. This symbolic act was an expression of our gratitude for the blessings that God has bestowed upon this church family.

 April 10, 2005, four men were ordained into the brotherhood of deacons.

 September, 2005, we opened a Food Pantry to help serve the needs of the community.

 Many souls have come to our Christian family in these past few years ¾ for baptism, or restoration, or by their previous Christian experience ¾ what a blessing. We have a Learning Resources Center with an active library and computer classes. Our music department is growing in spirit and in number. Our Christian Family Life Center is still a work in  progress. We are dedicated to the development of Christian Education and complete enrichment for our church family and the community.

 We have made great progress since 01-01-01 following the leadership of Pastor H. R. Berry. But there is still much work to be done.  We must continue to work together promoting the growth and well being of our church family. We know that God will see us through and all our needs will be supplied.  It is our firm belief that we will accomplish our goals and continue to praise the Lord higher and higher.  We will always be eternally grateful for everyone’s prayers and steadfast support for us in our Christian efforts.  Please keep on praying.