The Dutchess Assembly (formerly called Fishkill Assembly) of the Light of the World Ministry is a branch of The Light of the World Christian Ministries International, with its headquarters in the City of New York. The Church began after the Holy Spirit had inspired the Rev. Dr. Arku to plant a branch of the church at the Hudson Valley.
In obedience to and the directions of the Holy Spirit and also being convinced of the impact that the church will have on the lives of those who are residing in the Hudson Valley, the Church began as a home cell, meeting with only a handful of people: namely, Rev. Arku, his wife and children; and Mr. Joseph Agyemang, his wife and children. They were later on joined by Evangelist Patrick Boatey and his wife Josephine. We met from house to house for the teaching of the Word, Fellowshipping, breaking of bread, and to pray as was the pattern of the early Church, (Acts 2:41-47). As the days went by, the Lord added Sister Helen Kumaga and her children to the fellowship. What a joy it was!
Since it was the desire of Rev. Arku to house the church in a permanent place, the church started meeting in one of the classrooms of the Church of the Nazarene on route 52. After a couple of months the church moved and started fellowshiping at the Holiday Inn hotel on route 9, Fishkill. During our stay at the Hotel there were moments where it looked as if the church was not going to grow but we believed that any thing that is born of God has the ability to overcome and we surely overcame those moments. Much as we loved fellowshiping at the Holiday Inn Hotel it became very burdensome as we had to carry our instruments and other fixtures for worship every Sunday morning, set up for service, and then dismantled after Church. A meeting was held to discuss the next move.