Rev. Mother Geraldine Powell, who was known and loved as Mother Powell, was ordained in the 1960s as a minister in the nondenominational Miracle Temple that was located in Newark, N.J. under the leadership of Rev. R.W. Schamback. 

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She began three decades of full-time ministerial work at various facilities in Essex County, including the Essex County jail in Caldwell and the Hospital Center of Orange, N.J.  She also traveled abroad to preach and win souls for Christ.

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Mother Powell’s life work was to reach souls, to teach the Word of God with simplicity for successful living and to persuade God’s people to be effectual witnesses by the life they live. 

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In 1972, Mother Powell founded Citadel of Hope Mission and became its first pastor.  In the History of Citadel of Hope Mission, you will find the miraculous recovery story of how God performed a miracle in her life that launched the existence of this church. 

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Then twelve years later, with the founding of the Citadel of Hope Academy in Newark, N.J., Mother Powell became the first black woman in New Jersey to open a private Christian school.  The Academy (preschool through twelve grade school) operated for thirteen years.

   

After battling illness for awhile, on January 22, 1999, Rev. Mother Geraldine Powell went home to be with the Lord. Before she closed her eyes she could say as 2Timothy 4:7 states “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”