Eddie B Pruitte, Jr. is the pastor and founder of Holiness Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ, Inc., located on the front doorsteps of Prince William County in Woodbridge, Virginia. Having served as pastor for more than twenty years, the church has enjoyed tremendous growth and impact in its community: from its early start in the Pruitte family room to its current location on the corner of Occoquan and Old Bridge Roads. Under his teaching of true holiness, souls have been saved, healed and filled with the Spirit of God – as they have become a beacon of light in these challenging days.
Born in Aurora, Illinois to Deacon Eddie B Pruitte, Sr. and the late Missionary Annie Louise Pruitte, “Little Eddie B” was reared in Mount Olive Church Of God In Christ under the leadership of Bishop William H. Bonner. “Little Eddie B” was active in that church until the Lord impressed upon his father to begin a work—Mount Victory Church Of God In Christ in Batavia, Illinois.
Young Brother Pruitte served faithfully with his father as choir director, youth pastor, finance committee member and most notably, Sunday school superintendent at the young age of 14. As superintendent, Brother Pruitte started a Bible memorization program that was soon adopted by the New Fellowship District and subsequently the State Sunday School Department of the Sixth Jurisdiction of Illinois. Brother Pruitte received the baptism in the Holy Ghost in September 1983, accepted his call to ministry in 1984 and was ordained by Bishop Bonner in January 1988 in Chicago, Illinois.
After graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Master’s degree in Public Administration, Elder Pruitte and his young family relocated to the Washington D.C. metropolitan region where he served at Gethsemane Church Of God In Christ in Alexandria, Virginia under the leadership of Supt. Lloyd C. Coles, Jr.
In 1998, the Lord called upon Elder Pruitte to dig out a work in the Dale City and Woodbridge community. Along with his wife and daughters, the first service at Holiness Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ was held in the Pruitte family room. Throughout the years, the Lord has honored His Word and has tremendously blessed Pastor Pruitte’s labor. Spirit-led services, great singing, powerful testimonies of victory, and an anointed Word from God are what you’ll find at this multi-ethnic church.
Holiness Tabernacle has served at its present location (1440 Old Bridge Road), since June 2009. However, just as God has always kept His Word with Elder Pruitte and the Holiness Tabernacle family, we have secured another property in the Eastern Prince William region, and in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Holiness Tabernacle received a loan from a local bank to construct a larger edifice such that the ministry can be expanded (as they have outgrown their current location).
At the jurisdictional level, Pastor Pruitte served faithfully in the Historic First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Virginia under the leadership of the late General Board Member, Bishop Ted G. Thomas, Sr. Pastor Pruitte was also the Assistant Superintendent of the Great Northern District, Chairman of the Virginia One Centennial Celebration, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, and member of all of Bishop Thomas’ General Board Campaign Committees.
Pastor Pruitte was also recognized on the National level of the Church Of God In Christ. In 2013, former Presiding Bishop Charles Edward Blake, Sr. appointed Pastor Pruitte to the Community Development Board, which coordinated the construction of the Charles Harrison Mason Affordable Housing Project. That same year, Pastor Pruitte was appointed to the Manual Review Committee by the Chairman of the National General Assembly, the late Bishop James Hunt. Finally, in 2014, Pastor Pruitte was honored to be named as one of the 100 most influential pastors in the Church Of God In Christ. At the demise of Bishop Ted G. Thomas, Sr., and the opportunity to construct a church from the ground, Pastor Pruitte has redirected all of his energy to building the Lord a house.
Pastor Pruitte has been married for thirty-five years to the beautiful and anointed woman of God, Vivian Valdez Pruitte. To their union, the Lord has blessed them with four daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren.