Reverend Samuel Littlejohn, Sr. was born in Tyler, Texas, the third child and first son of Reverend Essex Littlejohn, Sr. and JoMimie Ballinger Littlejohn. Carrying on the long tradition of a strong and dedicated familial commitment to Christ, Reverend Littlejohn was a third-generation Baptist minister. Reverend Littlejohn accepted Christ at the early age of seven and was baptized at the Greater Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. Reverend Littlejohn served honorably in the Navy and attended Bishop College and the Southwestern Theological Seminary. He also held a professional licensing and certification for nursing home administration in which he had a career as a nursing home administrator.
Upon moving to Fort Worth in 1951, Reverend Littlejohn became a member of Pilgrim Valley Missionary Baptist Church. On May 27, 1965 Reverend Littlejohn was called to pastor Shining Light Missionary Baptist Church, formerly known as Peaceful Rest Missionary Baptist Church. On June 6, 1965, Reverend Littlejohn preached his first sermon as pastor. Pastor Littlejohn put special emphasis on soul winning and didn't mind walking the streets, knocking on doors and witnessing Christ and HIS salvation to anyone he encountered, whether it be in the pulpit, at community roundtables or at checkout line at the grocery store. Over the 55 years of his leadership of Shining Light Missionary Baptist Church and through a changing world, Reverend Littlejohn continued to instill in his congregants the knowledge of God and the path to eternal salvation. Even through the pandemic in 2020 and declining health, Reverend Littlejohn continued to serve as lead pastor at Shining Light.
In addition to his 55 years at Shining Light, Reverend Littlejohn served as finance chairman and national certified instructor in the Galilee Griggs Memorial District Association of Baptist Churches for over 50 years. Reverend Littlejohn also has served as an instructor of the District and State Congress of Christian Education where he taught various courses over the years at the local and state levels.
Over the course of Reverend Littlejohn’s over 70 years as a resident of the city of Fort Worth he served the community faithfully and tirelessly. He was an active and vocal participant in the community and stressed the need to provide better access to educational and overall wellness opportunities. Reverend Littlejohn worked with the Community Action Agency (CAA), a Government poverty program established to help train and prepare minorities for the job market. He served multiple years as PTA President and lobbied for educational programs and various student issues at the State Capitol in Austin. He was a founding member of the Stop Six Revitalization Committee; an organizing and board member of the Sickle Cell Association of Tarrant County; a founding member and leader of the local PUSH Excel chapter; and a member of Youth Fair Chance. Reverend Littlejohn was also an organizing and founding member of the Stop Six Community Corporation, which was the driving force behind building the Stop Six Community Health Center (now JPS Health Center) which provides for quality and affordable health care in the Stop Six community. A plaque designating his support and commitment is prominently displayed in the lobby of the clinic and when built, the clinic quickly became a model for future health clinics in underserved communities throughout the DFW area.
Reverend Littlejohn was also an organizing and founding member of the Ministers and Police Taskforce, which since the 1980’s, worked to help build a better relationship with the community and law enforcement in order to try to help quell crime and violence.
As tirelessly as Reverend Littlejohn was with his teachings of the gospel and work in the community, he was as tirelessly engaged at being a husband, father and grandfather. He and Alice Fay Chance Littlejohn met in Fort Worth and had an unyielding love for each other which will carry on far beyond his time on this earth. He always had a dedication to his family and was engaged in all aspects of raising this family from hoping in the car and taking family vacations, to being active in his children’s school, sports, and various extra-curricular activities. He was an avid fisherman and loved to relax out on the lake.
Left with fond loving memories: wife - Alice Fay Chance Littlejohn; daughters - Tamela L. Littlejohn, Priscilla “Princess” Littlejohn and JoAnn Knox; son - Samuel Littlejohn II and daughter-in-law Torrey Overton Littlejohn; grandchildren - Zoe Kirstyn Littlejohn, Roman Essex Littlejohn, and Brian Knox; siblings - John R. Littlejohn and Marva J. Bailey. Others left to cherish his memories are a host of loving nieces, nephews, other relatives, special in-laws the Chance Family, and his church family at Shining Light Missionary Baptist Church.
Services will be LIVE STREAMED on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 12:00 pm (CST) at Facebook.com/Pilgrim Valley
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