Paradise African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
495 Lloyd Stewart Rd, Broadway, NC,27507
Pastor Paul Sewell
Sunday School: 10:00 AM
Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM
Wednesday Night Meeting: 7:00 PM (via Zoom)
Zoom #: 901165 8085
Passcode: 487845
Paradise African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church History
Legend has it that in 1908 the late David and Ben Buie started a mission church on a hill and was called Paradise Hill. It was located off McDougald Road (now called McAuthur Road). The church was constructed under the leadership of Rev. J.E. Reaves and it was part of the Durham District. The property on which the church stood then was purchased by the pastor, Rev. Reaves, and the Trustees, Mr. Burrell McDougald, Mr. George McDougald, Mr. Henry McLean Sr., Mr. James A. Beal, Mr. James Murphy, and Mr. Sims McDougald.
After years of worshipping in this church a disagreement developed and the two brothers separated causing two churches in the community to be established. One was organized as Paradise AME Zion Church and the other Moore Union Free Will Baptist Church.
Due to Paradise Church being off the major highway and located on a hill, in 1925 one acre of land was donated by Mr. Henry Nelson McLean and Paradise was built on its present site (495 Lloyd Stewart Rd.), thus becoming a part of the Raleigh District of the Central North Carolina Conference and a circuit church with Norrington AME Zion Church, Andrews Chapel AME Zion Church, and Chapel Hill AME Zion Church. At this time Paradise held Sunday School every Sunday and Morning Worship service once a month.
In 1954 Paradise was separated from Norrington, Andrews, and Chapel Hill Church and began having worship service twice a month.
In 1961 Paradise old wooden church burned to the ground, but by the year 1963 it had been rebuilt under the leadership of Rev. F.C. Covington. The contractor laid the blocks and the other work was done by the trustees and other members of the church. The trustees were: Mr. Charlie J. Bethea, Mr. John H. Buie, Mr. Paul McDougald, Mr. George J. Womack, Mr. Ed Douglas, and Mr. James D. Ray. Rev. T.J. Young was the Presiding Elder and Rt. Rev. R.L. Jones was the Bishop. There were several contributors and pastors from this church whose names are too numerous to mention.
Witness to the fact that this is the History of Paradise African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. To the best of their knowledge these statements are true. Witnesses are Rev. Annie Ruth McLean Lee, Sis. Theldora Cole Womack, Sis. Mary Lee McLean Clemons, and Evan Othella Cherry Clegg.
Meet Pastor Paul Sewell
The Reverend Paul A. Sewell, is a native of Jamaica, West Indies, He is the eldest of seven children. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986 from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, with a degree in English Liberal Arts. In 2007, he earned a Master of Divinity, Cum Laude, from Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC. He also holds a Certificate in Pastoral Counseling from Duke Divinity School Extension Program and completed two years of study toward a Doctor of Ministry Degree at Campbell Divinity School in Buies Creek, NC.
In his ministerial pursuit Rev. Sewell. Has pastored several churches in the Cape Fear Conference and the Eastern North Carolina Episcopal Conference. These churches include the Paul’s Chapel AME Zion Church, Appie, NC, Miller’s Chapel AME Zion, Elroy, NC, Invitation AME Zion Church, Snow Hill, NC, Bethel AME Zion Church, Stantonsburg, NC, Mount Zion AME Zion Church, Elizabethtown, NC, Little Marsh Chapel AME Zion, Saint Pauls, NC, Trinity AME Zion Church, Dunn, NC and New Hope AME Zion Church, Sanford, NC.
Currently, Reverend Sewell serves as the pastor of Paradise AME Zion Church, Broadway, NC. Reverend Sewell has been preaching since the tender age of sixteen. He has dedicated his life to ministry within the AME Zion Church. His roles have included serving 15 years as Assistant Director of Evangelism for the Wilson District of the Cape Fear Conference and as Finance Chairperson for the Lumberton District also of the Café Fear Conference.
He was also member of the Cape Fear Conference Finance Committee, where he was also the first pastor on the Clarkton District which is now the Lumberton District. Rev Sewell was also elected as a Delegate to the General Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012.
During his college years, Reverend Sewell served as a peer counselor and a math tutor in order to make extra money. Beyond his pastoral work, he is an experienced insurance agent and financial planner, assisting clients with investments, Long and Short Term, Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans and life insurance needs. Reverend Sewell has been married to the former Sadie Hunt for over 40 years.
Together, they have three children, Nadia, Andre, and Aaron, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He lives by the motto: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
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