Celebrating 60 years in 2011 of the vision which began in the hearts of Fred and Jean Olson and their baby son, Rick, in March of 1951. The Lord led the Olson Family to Houston, Texas. Because of the calling on Bro. Olson's life to reach the lost, he started a church in the garage of their home on Radial Street in the south part of Houston.  Their two daughters, Charlene and Kristene, were born while they lived there.

Bro. Olson, who learned the building trade while in the army, built their first church building, The Bible Church, located at 4524 Cosby Street, using his own hands, a hammer and a handsaw.  They had their first church service in the new building in November of 1952. Bro. Olson continued working full time as a brick layer contractor, as well as being a full time Pastor, so the church would be established financially. It was a time of sacrifice for him and his family.  Because of their unselfishness and devotion to God's work, God blessed their efforts with a church that steadily grew.

Because of the growing congregation at Cosby Street, Bro. Olson soon realized they needed to build again. He designed and built Gulfgate Pentecostal Church, located at 3315 Real Street, an extremely modern building that was way ahead of its time.  They had their first service in Spring of 1960.  In 1964 they added a Sunday School wing.

Texas Bible College, located nearby, used Gulfgate for their Chapel Services and classes until they were able to build a Chapel and move to their own campus. Many TBC students have fond memories of attending Gulfgate through the years.  The Church doubled in size and revival broke out. Because Bro. and Sis. Olson were strong believers in winning souls, they helped many young evangelists get started in the ministry.  Some of these revivals lasted as long as ten weeks, taking only Monday nights off. As a result, many souls were saved.  A faithful crew, led by Sis. Jean Olson, made peanut brittle every Monday morning for 12 years to defray the cost of revival meetings and pay the church mortgage off.     

Their son, Rick, and his wife, Alexa, who had established a powerful church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the backing of the Gulfgate Church, came home to Co-Pastor with his father for 4 years. Bro. Rick and Sis. Alexa then felt the call of God to move to Jacksonville, Florida where they started and built a booming church.   

Their daughter, Charlene, and her husband, Frank Bratcher, along with their daughter, Kara, are very active in the ministry of Christ Church today. Bro. and Sis. Bratcher's oldest daughter, Crystal, and her husband, Jon Paul McDaniel, serve as Youth Pastor and Wife at Christ Church. 

Gulfgate continued to grow and the need for relocation was apparent. Rev. Fred Olson, who had been blessed in his contracting business, found and financed the purchase of property at 12815 Fuqua Street. He drew up plans for the new sanctuary. He felt to call the new church "Christ Church" because he said that the church belonged to Jesus Christ.  In June of 1989, Rev. Michael J. and wife Kristene Anderson (Bro. Fred Olson's daughter), while pastoring a large congregation in Parkersburg, West Virginia, felt God's call to leave there and evangelize. They made Gulfgate Pentecostal Church in Houston, Texas, their home base. Not realizing that in God's divine plan, He was preparing them to assume the leadership of Christ Church. After receiving the sad news that Rev. Fred Olson had become ill with cancer in October of 1990, Bro. and Sis. Anderson understood that God, in His timeliness, had brought them here at the right time to assist Bro. Olson during his illness.

Anniversary Services

On April 11, 1991, Bro. Fred Olson, a great man of God who had been such a blessing to so many, passed away. Sis. Jean Olson was instructed by her husband to oversee the selection of a new Pastor. She and the Church Board brought Bro. Mike and Sis. Kristene Anderson before the congregation on April 21, 1991.  They were elected to be the new Pastor and Wife of Gulfgate/Christ Church with 100% majority vote.    

Sis. Jean Olson, who had in the past taken such a faithful role as Pastor's Wife, excellent Bible teacher, Musician, Choir Director, and one who supported her husband and congregation with her faithful service, was elected Pastor Emerita by the congregation. She has since married Rev. Robert Baker who is now a Senior Minister on staff.

Christ Church broke ground on their property at 12815 Fuqua that year. Under the leadership of Pastor Mike Anderson, the church embarked on their new endeavor to build the church that God had laid on Bro. Olson's heart. After many delays and setbacks to the building project, discouragement inevitably set in.  Pastor Anderson then began to recall the teaching and learning experiences in his life. He was encouraged by his sweet wife, Sis. Kris Anderson to step out by faith.  He asked a denominal church to rent or borrow their facilities so the congregation would have a place to have church. God opened the door for the church congregation to share a building with First Baptist Church of Genoa, located near the property on Fuqua, until the Gulfgate building was sold. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, many blessings and miracles were brought about during their building program. Souls were saved, and Christ Church increased and continued to grow numerically and financially. God miraculously provided the funds for the building project through several gifts, which were phenomenal answers to prayer.

After many divine interventions to help in their time of need, Christ Church at last celebrated their first church service in their new edifice on Easter Sunday, April 23, 2000.  They held their dedication services the following August. Pastor Anderson and his good wife have a great vision for Christ Church.  They have spent several years training and preparing a qualified ministry staff to handle anticipated growth.  They, with their staff, are believing the best is yet to come.  God has given Christ Church a good reputation far surpassing their size, but the glory goes to Him for opening many doors of opportunity and giving Christ Church favor with others.    There is a Holy Visitation from God in every service at Christ Church.  The vision is greater and continues for the blessings of the future!