The Church that Caldwell Built: The Cornerstone of the PAW, Inc. in the West

 to the  historic site where Bishop Caldwell first planted the PAW flag, nearly 100 years ago. Generations  of families have seenLauded in the U.S. House of Representatives as a “religious landmark,” the historic church located  at 138 28th street, between L and Hensley streets, in San Diego, California has its roots in the early  history of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. (“PAW”). Erected in 1933, by the late  Bishop John A. Caldwell, an understudy to the late Honorable Bishop G.T. Haywood, the church  that Caldwell built played a critical role in the expansion of the PAW in the western United States. their loved ones born, dedicated, saved, married, and eulogized within its  walls. Moreover, the Home church launched hundreds of ministries that now span the globe. 

PAW standard-bearers of every generation have traveled to the church that Caldwell built to  fellowship and preach in its pulpit, including, but not limitThe church saw the elevation of its founder from Pastor to several inaugural posts within the PAW,  including District Elder of the then-California District Council; Chairman of the then-California  State Council; and Bishop of the 16th Episcopal District (then-encompassing California and  Arizona). Caldwell’s elevation to Bishop made the church he built the first-ever West Coast  headquarters of the PAW, solidifying its place in the organization’s illustrious lineage – and  earning its revered title, the Home church. 

Following the death of the church’s founder, then-Pastor Charles Taylor assumed the pastorate of  the church that Caldwell built, having merged his congregation with Caldwell’s. A crowning  accomplishment of Taylor’s legacy was the modernization and expansion of the church building,  which concluded in 1982. As in the case of Caldwell, the Home church saw the elevations of Pastor Taylor to the posts of District Elder, Suffragan Bishop and ultimately Bishop and Diocesan  of the Nevada District Council.  

ed to, the late Honorable Bishop Paul  A. Bowers; The late Honorable Bishop Norman L. Wagner; the late Honorable Bishop Frank R.  Bowden; the late Bishop Arthur Braiser; the late Bishop Samuel J. Grimes; the late Bishop Joseph  R. Hall; the late Bishop A 1 Johnson, the late Bishop Henry L. Johnson, Bishop Donnie N. McGriff  (present Diocesan Bishop, Southern California District Council); the late Bishop Robert McMurry;  the late Bishop Theophilius A.E. Price; the late Bishop William L. Smith; the late Bishop Carl W.  Stewart; the late Bishop Samuel Wright; the late Suffragan Bishop Charles Robinson; the late  District Elder A.J. Cross; the late Pastor Renix Graham; the late Pastor Jellett Grantoz, and  countless others.  

In 2015, seventeen years following the late Bishop Taylor’s death, the PAW landmark in the West  lost its affiliation with the organization. In late 2020, a local developer purchased the Church that  Caldwell built with plans to demolish it and erect an apartment building in its place. God had other  plans, however. Suffragan Bishop, Dr. William A. Benson, Chairman of the Southern California  District Council and Pastor of Total Deliverance Worship Center, connected with the new owner  of the church, explained the historic significance of the church building and expressed his desire