Charles Harrison Mason (1864-1961) began his ministry in 1893 in Preston, Arkansas. Shunned by the African American Baptist community in Jackson during the 1890s due to his teachings on holiness, Mason brought his revival to Lexington in 1897. He began preaching on the steps of the Holmes County Courthouse and later moved to private homes and an abandoned gin house. During his time in Lexington, Mason established St. Paul Church, which became known as the "Mother Church" of the Church of God in Christ denomination.