We have a humble beginning...
Back in 1951, Kenneth Combs and his wife, Marie, started holding services in a tent at 19th Avenue and Broadway in Phoenix and Dessert Valley Church of God was born. Pastor Combs started putting up a building at 15th Avenue and Corona. He got the walls up to the height of the windows before arthritis forced him to stop. Pastor Charles Atkinson picked up the mantle and added the roof. He then moved the services into the still unfinished building.
Pastor Atkinson was followed by Cecil Bledsoe, who pastored the church for about 14 years. Pastor Bledsoe finished the building and reinforced the walls. Construction was not to code back in those days, and the homemade trusses were literally pushing the tops of the walls outward.
A series of other pastors followed Pastor Cecil Bledsoe over the years, and in 1979 Pastor Ben Self dedicated a new building at 4707 E. Baseline as Desert Valley Church of God. Then in 1980, Cecil Bledsoe’s son, James Bledsoe, was appointed pastor.
In 1985, Pastor James Bledsoe relocated the building to its current location at 7606 S. 41st St. This was quite a process. They removed the roof and cut the brown brick building in half. The halves were towed down Baseline in the middle of the night when there was less traffic to contend with. Once positioned in the new location, they mortared the two halves of the building back together and put the roof back on.
In 1985, Pastor James Bledsoe relocated the building to its current location at 7606 S. 41st St. This was quite a process. They removed the roof and cut the brown brick building in half. The halves were towed down Baseline in the middle of the night when there was less traffic to contend with. Once positioned in the new location, they mortared the two halves of the building back together and put the roof back on.
James Bledsoe pastored the church for 27 years until he retired at the end of 2006. He was followed by Caleb Crooms 2007, who gave the church its current name in 2009 to "Life Church at South Mountain."
In 2010, the Lord brought Gregory Pratt to serve as our pastor. James Bledsoe has since returned to our congregation, and currently leads our Prayer Ministry.
We’ve come a long way from the tent on 19th Avenue, and we’re still a growing church with a passion for the Lord.
In 2010, the Lord brought Gregory Pratt to serve as our pastor. James Bledsoe has since returned to our congregation, and currently leads our Prayer Ministry.
We’ve come a long way from the tent on 19th Avenue, and we’re still a growing church with a passion for the Lord.
God Answered Our Prayers
In His faithfulness, God answered. At the beginning of May 2025, just two days after the fast concluded, the opportunity opened for the church to sell its current facility and purchase a new campus located just seven minutes away at 1050 E. Baseline Road.
This new space represents far more than a building. It is a launching pad for the future of the church and the Church of God in Arizona; a place where lives will be transformed, families restored, and disciples raised up for generations to come.
This new space represents far more than a building. It is a launching pad for the future of the church and the Church of God in Arizona; a place where lives will be transformed, families restored, and disciples raised up for generations to come.