There are a number of historical Black churches in North Omaha. A few have illustrious, long stories packed with hard times and fascinating outcomes, all the while growing and shrinking, suffering and aspirations. Other congregations are built entirely on faith and prayer. This is a history of one of those churches called the North 24th Street Worship Center.
In the 1920s, a lot of Omaha’s African American community was huddled around North 24th Street from Cuming Street to Miami Street. There were businesses, apartment buildings, houses and services along “the Deuce” that served Black people, which was essential because the rest of Omaha wouldn’t do that because of Jim Crow. Churches were an important part of that mix, and in the 1920s there were several Black congregations along North 24th Street. One of them was originally called the North 24th Street Church of God.
The national Church of God was founded in 1881 in Indiana.
The denomination wanted to expand into Omaha, and according to a 1945 article in the Omaha Star, it was 1923 when Rev. Samuel S. Spaght (1889-1959) (pictured above) came to Omaha to open a mission. Mrs. Emma Whiteside (1881-1952), Mrs. Daisy Williams and Mrs. Ella Clark were at the first gathering together, and the for several years the services were held in the homes of members including Mrs. Whiteside and the Sawyers, whose home was at 2434 Grant Street. A current member of the church told me that as the congregation grew women at the church made and sold aprons and other handcrafted products, eventually, Mrs. Whiteside bought the Sunset Dancehall for the congregation to use as a church. (Mrs. Whiteside’s son Harold “Skeet” Whiteside opened the iconic Skeet’s BBQ after he returned from WWII.)
Rev. Spaght left the church in the early 1930s and came back in 1937. In 1940, a building committee was established to start a program. Devising plans for construction, the group included Mrs. Whiteside, King Alls, Mrs. M. Sawyer, Mrs. Alice Britt, Mr. A. Baldwin and Mr. Anderson Bland. Demolishing the dancehall in 1941, in March 1942 the land was excavated for construction. Materials from the original building were repurposed for the new building, and on July 29, 1945 the new edifice was dedicated.
In that era, this area around the Church of God was packed with commercial businesses. In those earliest decades the church hosted two worship services on Sundays along with Sunday school, as well as choir, youth programming, Bible study and more. The church was a regularly busy place, just like all of North 24th Street with its cafes, movie theaters, streetcars and people walking all over. Rev. Spaght left the congregation in 1947.
According to her front page obituary in the Omaha Star, Mrs. Whiteside was “better known as Mother Whiteside” because of her efforts for the church, and was “one of Omaha’s outstanding missionaries.” Her effects on the 24th Street Church of God is stated clearly by the paper: “The establishing of the church was due greatly to her influence and efforts as well as her many sacrifices.” She was widely acknowledged as the guiding force behind the North 24th Street Church of God for more than 25 years.
After Mother Whiteside’s death, the congregation continued to thrive, grow and change throughout the decades. However, their original building remained unaltered from 1952 to until it was time for a new building.
In the 1990s, the minister of the church, Rev. Stan Rone, had a vision for a new church building. A new worship center with a fellowship hall, classrooms, administrative offices, a conference room, a nursery, restrooms, storage and a complete kitchen was planned for opening in December 2001.
The congregation built a massive new edifice at North 24th and Grant Street, just south of their original church building. This beautiful structure became one of the brightest lights in the Near North Side neighborhood, which had become blighted and was being demolished building-by-building without signs of reconstruction. With the new structure, the congregation took the name North 24th Street Worship Center. The neighborhood’s signs of revitalization have grown extensively since they opened.
Longtime pastors Stan and Beverly Rone have been recognized by the national Church of God for their creative ministry, especially during the COVID pandemic. They have ministered to this congregation for over 30 years.
A century old in 2023, the church continues thriving, providing leadership for the community and honoring its founders, its mission and most importantly, its faith.
You Might Like…
- A History of Black Churches in Omaha
- History of Churches in North Omaha
- A History of the Near North Side Neighborhood in North Omaha
MY ARTICLES ABOUT HISTORIC BLACK CHURCHES IN NORTH OMAHA
Main Article: Historic Black Churches in North Omaha
Churches: St. John’s AME Church | Mount Moriah Baptist Church | Hope Lutheran Church| Bethel AME Church | New Bethel COGIC | Zion Baptist Church | Rising Star Baptist Church | Faith Temple COGIC | Mt. Calvary Community Church | St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Parish | North 24th Street Worship Center | Greater St. Paul COGIC
Former Churches: Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church | Hillside Presbyterian Church | St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church
MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF OMAHA’S NEAR NORTH SIDE
GROUPS: Black People | Jews and African Americans | Jews | Hungarians | Scandinavians | Chinese | Italians
EVENTS: Redlining | North Omaha Riots | Stone Soul Picnic | Native Omaha Days Festival
BUSINESSES: Club Harlem | Dreamland Ballroom | Omaha Star Office | 2621 North 16th Street | Calhoun Hotel | Warden Hotel | Willis Hotel | Broadview Hotel | Carter’s Cafe | Live Wire Cafe | Fair Deal Cafe | Metoyer’s BBQ | Skeet’s | Storz Brewery | 24th Street Dairy Queen | 1324 N. 24th St. | Ritz Theater | Alhambra Theater | 2410 Lake Street | Carver Savings and Loan Association | Blue Lion Center | 9 Center Variety Store | Bali-Hi Lounge
CHURCHES: St. John’s AME Church | Zion Baptist Church | Mt. Moriah Baptist Church | St. Philip Episcopal Church | St. Benedict Catholic Parish | Holy Family Catholic Church | Bethel AME Church | Cleaves Temple CME Church | North 24th Street Worship Center
HOMES: A History of | Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects | The Sherman | The Climmie | Ernie Chambers Court aka Strelow Apartments | Hillcrest Mansion | Governor Saunders Mansion | Memmen Apartments
SCHOOLS: Kellom | Lake | Long | Cass Street | Izard Street | Dodge Street
ORGANIZATIONS: Red Dot Athletic Club | Omaha Colored Baseball League | Omaha Rockets | YMCA | Midwest Athletic Club | Charles Street Bicycle Park | DePorres Club | NWCA | Elks Hall and Iroquois Lodge 92 | American Legion Post #30 | Bryant Resource Center | People’s Hospital | Bryant Center
NEIGHBORHOODS: Long School | Logan Fontenelle Projects | Kellom Heights | Conestoga | 24th and Lake | 20th and Lake | Charles Street Projects
INDIVIDUALS: Edwin Overall | Rev. Russel Taylor | Rev. Anna R. Woodbey | Rev. Dr. John Albert Williams | Rev. John Adams, Sr. | Dr. William W. Peebles | Dr. Craig Morris | Dr. John A. Singleton, DDS | Dr. Aaron M. McMillan | Mildred Brown | Dr. Marguerita Washington | Eugene Skinner | Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts | Helen Mahammitt | Cathy Hughes | Florentine Pinkston | Amos P. Scruggs | Nathaniel Hunter | Bertha Calloway
OTHER: 26th and Lake Streetcar Shop | Webster Telephone Exchange Building | Kellom Pool | Circus Grounds | Ak-Sar-Ben Den
MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF N. 24TH ST.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: 24th and Lake Historic District | Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church | Carnation Ballroom | Jewell Building | Minne Lusa Historic District | The Omaha Star
NEIGHBORHOODS: Near North Side | Long School | Kellom Heights | Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects | Kountze Place | Saratoga | Miller Park | Minne Lusa
BUSINESSES: 1324 North 24th Street | 24th Street Dairy Queen | 2936 North 24th Street | Jewell Building and Dreamland Ballroom | 3006 Building | Forbes Bakery, Ak-Sar-Ben Bakery, and Royal Bakery | Blue Lion Center | Omaha Star | Hash House | Live Wire Cafe | Metoyer’s BBQ | Fair Deal Cafe | Carter’s Cafe | Carnation Ballroom | Alhambra Theater | Ritz Theater | Suburban Theater | Skeet’s BBQ | Safeway | Bali-Hi Lounge | 9 Center Five-and-Dime
CHURCHES: Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church | Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church | Immanuel Baptist Church | Mt Moriah Baptist Church | Bethel AME Church | North 24th Street Worship Center
HOUSES: McCreary Mansion | Gruenig Mansion | Redick Mansion
INTERSECTIONS: 24th and Lake | 24th and Pratt | 24th and Ames | 24th and Fort | Recent History of 24th and Lake | Tour of 24th and Lake
EVENTS: 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition | 1899 Greater America Exposition | 1913 Easter Sunday Tornado | 1919 Lynching and Riot | 1960s Riots
HOSPITALS: Mercy Hospital | Swedish Covenant | Salvation Army
OTHER: Omaha Driving Park | JFK Rec Center | Omaha University | Creighton University | Bryant Center | Jacobs Hall | Joslyn Hall
RELATED: A Street of Dreams | Redlining | Black History in Omaha | North Omaha’s Jewish Community | Binney Street | Wirt Street
NorthOmahaHistory.com 
Leave a comment