Humble Beginnings
The National Wesleyan Church had its beginnings in the home of Mrs. Armentrout where Mr. Hugh Ammons and the Rev. W.R. Dudley met for prayer meetings. At that time it was called the First Pilgrim Holiness Church.

In the fall of 1941 as the search for a more permanent place of worship continued, Rev. Dudley invited Rev. and Mrs. Armond Doll to hold a revival at a rented hall located at 5th and C Streets, NW, Washington. During this revival God directed them to a small church building which became available to rent at Brandywine and Wisconsin Avenues, NW, Washington. Services were held there until September 1942, at which time Rev. R.W. Wolf, then General Secretary of Church Extension, took over the Washington work, putting it under the jurisdiction of his department. The Rev. C.E. Posey was then made pastor and it was decided to purchase a house property at 13th and F Streets, NW, and convert it into a church. The dealing was complete on October 28, 1942.

The Early Years
The First Pilgrim Holiness Church was on its way! Services were held under Rev. Posey?s ministry until the fall of 1946, when Rev. T.M. Weir became the pastor. By March 1947 the church had outgrown its facilities at 13th and F, so a new location became desirable. Property at 24th and Franklin Streets, NE was purchased at this time and construction was begun. Through God?s providence, even while construction was in progress, services continued in the nearby Masonic Lodge at Rhode Island and Mills Avenues, NE.

In the spring of 1948, the name of the church was changed to Woodbridge Pilgrim Church. Duties became monumental to Rev. Weir, who was trying to start a new district while pastoring the church. Eventually in 1953 the Rev, J.A. Rodgers took over leadership and served until1954. In June of 1955 Rev. James W. Kraus was called to serve as pastor.

In the spring of 1956 the building at 24th and Franklin was sold to Greater New St. Paul Baptist Church and for the next one and a half years, the congregation rented from Hyattsville Seventh Day Adventist Church. In the spring of 1958 we moved to the Ridgecrest Elementary School, close to our present location at 6324 Riggs Road.

New Location, New Name
The Ground Breaking Ceremony for the present sanctuary at 6324 Riggs Road, Hyattsville MD, was held on August 23, 1959. The first service was held in this building in June 1960. The new sanctuary of the now National Pilgrim Church was dedicated to God on May 28, 1961. When the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Methodist Church were merged to form The Wesleyan Church in 1968, the name of this church was changed to the National Wesleyan Church.

James W. Kraus served from 1955 until his death in 1970. National was left without a Pastor for over a year and the congregation declined. Membership fell to about eight and many of the ministries and activities were non-functioning. At this point the District Board of Administration decided that unless a pastor was secured quickly the church should be closed. The remaining members banded together in prayer to seek the Lord?s intervention.

Rebuilding
In 1971 Pastor John Mills was secured as the sixth pastor of National and begun the tremendous task of rebuilding a dying church. With much prayer and a vigorous outreach program the church started to grow. As the church and the outreach ministry expanded buses were purchased to provide transportation for members that could not otherwise get to the church. The outreach and bus ministry became the focal point of brining new members into the congregation and National quickly became a diverse, multi-cultural church with over twenty five nation?s worshiping. An annual International Day was introduced to celebrate the diversity of the congregation. As the congregation grew the church staff was increased to include an Assistant Pastor, Youth Pastor, Minister of Evangelism and an Office Secretary. To accommodate growth an additional service at 8 am was started at this time. Pastor John Mills left in late 1991.

Dr. Ira Taylor took over in November of 1991 as the seventh pastor of National. Pastor Taylor introduces vision to build the church through Sunday school and cell groups. ?Friend Day? was introduced in October 1991 and has since become an annual event. By this time the National Wesleyan Church Choir had established itself as one of the premier Church Choirs in the Wesleyan body. They Ministered at the North American General Conference in North Carolina in 1998, the Chicago Church Planting conference in Chicago, the Barbados Gospel fest in Barbados in 2000, and recorded it?s first CD in 2002. Ministries grew under Pastor Taylor?s leadership including the Nursing Home Ministry, Children?s Choir, Wesleyan Bible Bowl, Youth Choir, Health Ministry, Prison Ministry, Prayer Ministry and the Gospelights.

National Wesleyan Today
Dr. Taylor retired in July 2005 and was replaced by Rev Oswen Cameron who served until his departure in March 2008. In July 2008 Rev George Bassey was installed as senior pastor of National and leads NWC into the future with vision and fortitude. National continues to be a church where believers are equipped with the truth to foster Spiritual Growth.