Shield of Faith Ministries is a welcoming church located on a peaceful suburban street in Walthamstow (E17 5BH).

The church is under the leadership of Bishop Alfred Samuels, who has faithfully led the congregation since 2001.

We believe in the full truth of Scripture — both Old and New Testaments — and desire for God’s people to have a clear revelation of Him.

Whether you are a regular churchgoer or visiting for the first time, we warmly invite you to join us this Sunday.

About Shield of Faith Ministries

Our History

Bishop Alfred Samuels and Evangelist Samuels were married in 1970 and are the proud parents of five children and seven grandchildren. We give thanks to God for His continued favour upon their lives and ministry.

From 1980 to 1988, under the tutoring of the late Pastor Bury of Bethel Tabernacle, Bishop Samuels served faithfully in various roles including Sunday School Teacher, Evangelist, and Assistant Pastor.

Between 1989 and 2001, Bishop Samuels served under Overseer Vaughan of Miracle Church of God in Christ, where he received advanced ministry training and completed four years at the CBI Bible Institute, graduating with distinction. He was later ordained and appointed Senior Pastor of the London branch of the Miracle Church of God in Christ.

In 2001, under God’s leading, Shield of Faith Ministries was birthed. Today, the ministry continues to grow and expand, including a branch in Hackney under the leadership of Pastor John Jeffers.

With God’s guidance, the church has maintained a successful Prison Ministry at HMP Stamford Hill in Kent for over 20 years, providing spiritual support to inmates and to those transitioning back into society. Bishop Samuels also served as a Lay Visitor to police stations across Hackney and Tottenham, and the church continues to reach the community through homeless outreach projects, feeding orphans, widows, and those in need both in the UK and abroad.

Our Beliefs

    • We believe in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament as inspired by God the supreme and final authority for faith and life.

    • We believe in the Trinity, God externally existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

  • We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.

  • We believe that God created man in His own image; that man sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of death — physically and spiritually — and that all human beings consequently inherit a sinful nature.

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that all who believe in Him are forgiven through the shedding of His blood.

  • We believe in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and His ascension into heaven, and that He is our High Priest and Advocate.

  • We believe in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, empowering believers for service and the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.

  • We believe in the ordaining of the Five-Fold Ministry.

  • We believe in the resurrection of the just and the unjust — the eternal blessing of the redeemed, and the eternal banishment of those who reject salvation.

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus appointed Baptism by water and the Lord’s Supper to be observed as acts of obedience and as a continual witness to the fact of the Christian faith.

    Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water as a confession of the Lord Jesus in His burial and resurrection.

    The Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the Body and the Blood of our Saviour. In doing this, it is a remembrance of His death until He comes again.

  • We believe in divine healing.

Our Goals

  • To have our own building, seating at least 1,000 members. To God be the glory — we have already achieved our own building and are continuing to expand.

  • To have our own Bible School.

  • To have halfway homes, e.g. providing aftercare for ex-inmates and the homeless.

  • To expand our overseas ministries borne out of Shield of Faith, in which we have had great success in India.

Our Vision

For God’s people to have a clear revelation of God, and to be bold in the declaration of His will and standards, holding firmly to their biblical convictions.

Also, to train young men and women whom the Lord has called within the Five-Fold Ministry; ordaining them and placing them within their own branch of Shield of Faith Ministries to encourage and nurture the gifts the Lord has placed within them for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

We aim to encourage ourselves in the Lord, being bonded together in His love, standing united and respecting one another — in Shield of Faith Ministries, where everybody is somebody.
United we stand, divided we fall.

Bishop Alfred Samuels

Biography