Founded in Cape Town in 1914 by Bishop James Limba, the Church moved its headquarters to New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, in 1928, building the Temple at Limba Road & Sheya Kulati Drive still standing today. Through the darkest years of apartheid, the Church became a spiritual home to many leaders of the liberation movement, a role its bond with government still reflects: Deputy President Jacob Zuma addressed the 90th anniversary in 2004, sent the centenary message in 2014, and visited Bishop Bolana in New Brighton in 2016; on Bishop Bolana's passing in February 2026, the Deputy President paid tribute at his memorial, and the ANC's leadership visited the new Bishop uTata in Gqeberha to reaffirm the party's decades-long ties with the Church.