East Baltimore Deliverance Church was started in 1969 by Apostle Christina V. Holtsclaw. At that time, she was a special education teacher for a junior high school and she was also an evangelist. Her students would frequently ask her questions about God and for prayer. As she began to answer their questions and pray for them, they wanted more. They asked for Sunday School, but the church she was attending at the time closed down. Determined to accommodate these unchurched students, she started having Sunday School in the basement of a parent’s home.

During that time Evangelist Phillips met Apostle Arturo Skinner of Brooklyn, New York through her new pastor. He was looking to start a Deliverance Center in Baltimore and asked Evangelist Holtsclaw to locate possible sites for a church. One of the locations was 1001-05 N. Caroline Street, where East Baltimore Deliverance Center is presently located.

Evangelist Holtsclaw agreed to help oversee the operation of the church until Apostle Skinner could identify a pastor. As she continued to work in the church, she would frequently ask Apostle Skinner did he have anyone in mind to pastor it and he would reply that God would raise up someone from among them. One evening while at a minister’s service at Apostle Skinner’s church in New York, he called for minister’s to recommit to God. Evangelist Holtsclaw felt led to go to the altar and recommit. Apostle Skinner prayed for her and told her to say another YES to God. As she began to say, “Yes,” she knew that she was called by God to be the pastor of East Baltimore Deliverance Center.

In June 2000, her daughter, Dr. Carolyn Seawell, was installed as pastor and Pastor Holtsclaw was elevated to Apostle. Pastor Seawell served as pastor of East Baltimore Deliverance Center for 22 years.

In July 2022, Reverend Quincy Phillips, Apostle Holtsclaw’s grandson, was installed as pastor.