Galilee Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. James D. Stinson, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, has
been a
resident of Tacoma, Washington since 1964. Upon joining the U.S. Army,
he was required to change his birth name from J.D. Stinson because they
didn’t enlist anyone with initials. He named himself James Davis
Stinson and served active duty as a Cook for six years, retiring as a
Sergeant First Class in the U. S. Army Reserves and Veteran of the
Korean War. He is also a retired construction worker of 30 years. On
July 22, 1955, he married his beautiful wife of 53 years, Lila Stinson.
They have four children – one daughter, Barbara Walker; and 3 sons,
Michael, Donald and Antonio Stinson; a son in-law and three
daughters-in-law. They are the proud grandparents of 13 grandchildren
and six great grandchildren.
Pastor Emeritus
Rev. Stinson’s calling from God to the ministry came in 1964. He was a member and usher of the Second Baptist Church in Monrovia, California. Through visions appearing in his dreams, he believed God was calling him to preach the Gospel. He accepted the calling and shortly thereafter relocated his family from California to Washington State. He united with St. John Baptist Church where he was one of Reverend J. A. Bole’s “sons in the ministry.” He later moved his membership to Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, where the late Reverend Raymond Cain ordained and issued his certificate of license in the ministry in December 1965.
In April 1967, eighteen Christians came together to organize a new church. Reverend Stinson was asked to be the Pastor. This church was given the name Galilee Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Stinson’s zeal and drive to preach and teach the gospel was something he did with passion and dedication. Because of his love for people he would go throughout the community witnessing and inviting anyone that wasn’t a member of a church to Galilee If they didn’t have a ride he would be there to pick them up. For several years he used his personal cars as transportation for the church. His main objective has always been to win souls for Christ by telling everyone, “God is love and He will forgive you of your sins.”