Changes

==Michigan==

These then formed a small assembly, the first in Michigan and later to be known as Central Gospel Hall. The first meeting room was located in a rented store at 5th Avenue and Michigan in the Corktown district of Detroit. The group was small, and the people were in poor circumstances, so it was a constant struggle to meet expenses. They met in a variety of places over the next 20 years, even building and occupying a hall at the corner of Seventh and Perry Streets.

Each summer a tent was pitched, and the Gospel was preached nightly. As the assembly grew larger, the Christians began to hold annual conferences. It was on the occasion of one of these conferences, perhaps in about 1889, that a small ‘exclusive’ assembly some 10 miles outside of Detroit came to seek fellowship with the Detroit assembly. Its people were French and had for some time conducted their meetings in their native tongue before switching to English. When they heard of the assembly in Detroit founded by Mr. Muir, they became associated with it.

It was at about this time that H.A. Cameron, a young medical doctor, came from Scotland and joined the fellowship. He was soon Mr. Muir’s right hand man; Muir and Cameron were the two pillars of the work for many years. Muir’s excellence as a preacher and knowledge of the Word attracted capacity crowds to the auditorium; on occasion the stairs up to the speaker’s platform were used as seating when Mr. Muir spoke. Mr. Cameron was the exacting teacher and was the person who encouraged Will Pell to begin publishing the Assembly Annals magazine and the Sunday School curriculum.

After World War II, the Christians began to move to the outlying parts of the city. The brethren began to consider moving to a new location and an old church building was found at the corner of Curtis and Lenore Avenues. The assembly purchased it, tore it down, and erected the Curtis Gospel Chapel in northwest Detroit, which was dedicated in October 1957. Special Gospel meetings and summer Daily Vacation Bible Schools have continued, with many children coming from the neighborhood.

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In 1989, Faith Bible Chapel in Farmington Hills near Detroit was formed by some former members of Curtis Gospel Chapel. Mark and Carol Kieft commended from Bethany Bible Chapel in Carmel, IN helped start Faith Bible Chapel, where they have served the Lord full time.

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Farmington Road Gospel Chapel in the Detroit area was built in the 1950s. The assembly continued into the 1970s.

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Jim Wallis and Don Fraser desired to start a new assembly in the Redford area of Detroit. Enlisting the help of four more couples, they began the work in a public school, with 50 people at the first service, at which time some were saved. Children’s classes were also held on that day in 1951. Gifts and loans enabled them to build Dunning Park Chapel at 24800 West Chicago Boulevard; the assembly still meets at that location.

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The assembly meeting in the Dearborn Chapel in southwest Detroit at Nona and Hamilton Streets, constructed a large new building in the 1950s. The assembly continues at this time.

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Around 1919, John Ferguson, Sr., pitched a tent nearby at Warren and Cadillac Avenue for a month of Gospel meetings. The need for having a place for special meetings induced Mr. Hitt of Central Gospel Hall in Detroit to purchase a frame building, which was transported in sections to Forest and Pennsylvania Streets. The work of erecting the building was done with the help of numerous Christians, many of them from Central Gospel Hall. The building was used initially for the Sunday School work.

The building was very modest in appearance, being of collapsible construction and set on wooden pillars driven into the ground. The Christians were constantly concerned that these pillars might collapse and the building fall, especially when large crowds were present at special meetings.

Some of the early workers were the families of Cyril and Harry Popplestone, David McKay, Walter Lyons, John Pinches, William Upleger and Mabel Gibson Upleger, William Ingram, Cluot, Nell and Tress Bonser, James Brown, Gunda Anderson Ghiata, Elsie Benning Weinert, Mabel Thompson Ross, Beatrice Mellick, Margaret Ingram Murdock, and William Smith. About 60 or 70 Christians were in fellowship in 1926.

During these years the assembly had tent meetings on Holcomb and Forest, a few blocks away. The tent was an attraction to the people who wouldn’t come into a building. George Pinches, brother of John Pinches, had several weeks of Gospel meetings in the tent. Many were saved during a Gospel campaign held by Fred Nugent, which was held nightly for six weeks.

Property in Detroit was too expensive then, so the present site on Martin Road outside the city at St. Clair Shores was purchased and the Martin Road Gospel Chapel was built in 1958. A Sunday School bus was purchased to bring children to the Sunday School. Mr. Hewson from Salem Hall in Detroit (which assembly built Plymouth Road Chapel within a year or two), gave help in Gospel ministry. John and James Barclay were the first Gospel preachers at the Martin Road Christan Assembly.

A group left to start a new assembly in a Sterling Heights in 1976. Martin Road Christian Assembly is much smaller today; nevertheless, it is active. Christians from India have joined the assembly. Each week during fall, winter and spring, the Christians conduct a Girls Club and a

Boys Club, and a Daily Vacation Bible School in the summer. The ladies continue to have a weekly Bible Study and a Monthly Missionary Work Meeting.

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Lakeside Bible Chapel in Sterling Heights on the north side of Detroit began in 1976 as a hive-off from Martin Road Gospel Chapel. Six families from that assembly were instrumental in its formation. Meeting first at the Graebner Elementary School, land for a chapel was purchased in 1978, and the building was finished in 1980. An expansion of the building was completed in 1990, and more land was purchased in 1997. Robert Johnston is the full-time worker at Lakeside. Average attendance at the Family Bible Hour was about 275 in 1997. The assembly has commended workers to the Lord’s service in the U.S., Spain, India, and Colombia.

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C.V. Baby, with John M. Chacko and a few other believers, started meeting for Bible studies in 1978 in Warren, MI. This led to the formation of the India Believers Gathering. The assembly is now known as India Brethren Assembly. (See Ethnic section)

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The Middle Eastern Bible Fellowship in Detroit began in March 1991, when a group of men and women of Arabic descent, including Ata and Salwa Mikhael, Raphael and Renee Haddad, and Philipe Yacoub, gathered to Remember the Lord. (See Ethnic section)

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The assembly has been led by several pastors, beginning with John Glover in 1937, followed by Stanley Lamar in 1938, John Moore in 1959, Timothy Love in 1962, and Pellam Love in 1982.

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A Baptist pastor in Detroit, Theodore Williams, Sr. became exercised about his denominational position, and in 1936 resigned his pastorate. Soon thereafter he came in contact with B. M. Nottage, through whom he learned of assemblies meeting in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. That same year, he and a small company of believers began Breaking Bread together in a canvas tent in the Ferndale area of Detroit. Called the Berean Tabernacle, the assembly was begun by Mr. Williams and another brother, with assistance from two brothers from Bethany Gospel Hall in Detroit. Soon they had erected their own building on Reimanville Avenue.

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In April 1939, a group of Christians established the Pilgrim Assembly in Detroit and moved into their first church home. In 1946, they incorporated as the Gospel Chapel of Detroit. Increasing numbers impelled them to move into larger quarters on Gratiot Avenue in 1951. In 1977, they moved to a building on East Grand Boulevard, and moved again into their present facility at 16241 Harper Avenue. Leading brothers have included Regan Wright, Julius Rivera, Arkles C. Brooks, Sr., and later his son Arkles C. Brooks, Jr. each of whom have served as assembly pastors. The assembly consists of about 100 adults and youngsters.

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The congregation now meeting at the Metropolitan Community Tabernacle in Detroit came into existence on Armistice Day, 1923. It functioned as an independent community church for many years. In about 1940, under the leadership of John E. Glover and B.M. Nottage, it came into fellowship with assemblies of brethren. Known for many years as Community Tabernacle, at Cameron and Wellington Streets, the assembly moved in 1985 to a building at 9835 Hayes and remodeled it, calling it Metropolitan Community Tabernacle. William James Coleman was the full-time worker at Metropolitan for many years and known for his Bible teaching ministry. He was jointly commended in 1966 by the six black assemblies then existing in Detroit. Metropolitan Community Tabernacle has recognized elders.

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Grace Chapel in Detroit, formerly Grace Tabernacle, is another fruit of the labors of B.M. Nottage in the 1930s. When Ken Hampton left the Detroit police force to become the full-time worker for the assembly in 1980, it had about 50 people regularly attending. In 1987, the assembly purchased a church building with a 600-seat auditorium; within a year, up to 500 people were attending Grace Chapel, which had three Sunday morning services and a Sunday evening Lord’s Supper. The active church sponsors a radio program, is involved in food and clothing distribution, and has several youth programs and an active music program.

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Smith’s Creek Bible Camp, initiated by Grant Love and supported by the Detroit black assemblies, provides summer campgrounds for youngsters. Another such group is at Muskegon and is known as the West Side Grace Mission.

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In 1932, the assembly moved to Davison Road Gospel Hall in Flint, at 3229 Davison Road. In 1955, the assembly built Dexter Street Gospel Chapel on the corner of Dexter Street and Dale Avenue. William Pell and Walter Jensen spoke at the dedication in March 1956. Elders serving then and since include Samuel Lynch, Claud DeWitt, William Stewart, Joseph Porter, James Turfus, Stuart Turfus, and Larry Lambert. About 40 adults are in fellowship in 1998.

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By 1984, neighborhood violence induced the Christians to sell the building. They met for a year at the Genesee Valley Mall auditorium, then decided to disperse to two other assemblies ““Dexter Street Gospel Chapel in Flint and Countryside Bible Chapel in Owosso, near Flint, rather than re-form their own. The funds from the sale of the building were used to establish the Civic Heights Bible Chapel Foundation, which contributed to many Christian ministries for a number of years. The assembly commended several to the Lord’s work at home and abroad.

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Countryside Bible Chapel in Owosso began in 1958, an outgrowth of a children’s work, and deriving from Pasadena Avenue Gospel Chapel in Flint. Roy Nelson, William LeCureux, and Sam Lynch were among those starting the assembly and have been involved in leadership along with Robert Tissot and others. The assembly has commended workers to serve at Bair Lake Bible Camp.

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The Christians comprising the assembly first met in a rented building on the corner of Ames and Harrison Streets, the first Saginaw Gospel Hall. Later they moved to a building on Hamilton Street, then to a building on the corner of Madison and Fayette Streets, then in about 1938, to a building on the corner of Throop and Porter Streets. In 1945, the assembly built a new hall, known as the Madison Street Gospel Hall on the corner of Madison and Porter Streets in Saginaw, and has been at that location since.

Leaders in the assembly over the years include Joseph Pocket, John William, Edward S. Williams, and Mathew McDonald. The assembly has commended John Govan to the work of the Lord.

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In 1934, an old house in Sheridan was purchased for the meetings and called the Sheridan Gospel Hall. In 1940, a chapel was built at 124 N. Main Street, and since then the assembly has been called Sheridan Bible Chapel.

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The city of Muskegon lies on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Muskegon Gospel Chapel at Allen and Oak Grove was constructed in about 1953 in a new residential neighborhood in a well-equipped and attractive building. This assembly disbanded in 1990.

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In about 1970, a group of Christians with charismatic leanings began meeting in Whitehall, near Montague. After a time, some of them expressed an interest in joining with the brethren movement, and invited Ed and Peg Burdick, commended from Dunning Park Chapel in Detroit, to help them. The Burdicks came in the 1980s, knowing the situation, but after a few years, they realized they were not helping assembly to grow. The assembly was called White Lake Fellowship during that period.

The assembly has commended Mel and Lois Rykse to Operation Mobilization. Ed Burdick is a full-time worker at Friendship Bible Chapel, and Peg Burdick is president of Winning Women for Christ. About 30 to 40 adults and youngsters attend Friendship Bible Chapel on Sundays.

Bair Lake Bible Camp and Upper Peninsula Bible Camp are the two brethren-sponsored Bible Camps in Michigan. Jack and Carol Long of Friendship Bible Chapel have been commended to work with those camps.

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In 1998, a hive-off of the Holland Gospel Chapel formed an assembly in Burnips, a rural town east of Holland. Dave and Arleen Nyhof, and Bernie and Lil Nyhof have leadership roles there. The Burnips Assembly is characterized by the presence of several home schooling families. The home school network is active among the believers in western Michigan.

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The North Adams Gospel Hall was started at nearby North Adams in 1932 by the efforts of brethren Stewart, McBain, and Klabunda. About 20 believers gathered to Remember the Lord at their first meeting. About 100 came to a special meeting later in that year. Memory has lost further details of this assembly, which disbanded long ago.

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The present Sherman Gospel Hall was planted by Fred Mehl in 1954. Originally in the village of Mesick, and known as the Mesick Gospel Hall, it moved to its present location in Sherman in the northwest portion of the Lower Peninsula in 1959. Some Christians from the disbanded assembly at Cadillac joined with the Sherman Gospel Hall. Others involved in the start-up were Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Spencer, Olive Spencer, Crystal Armstrong, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Marvin, Anthony Clouse, and Mrs. P. Oswald. Those active in leadership have been Lloyd Spencer, Chancy Spencer, David Spencer, Thomas Spencer; Robert Nielson, Arthur Phillips, William Armstrong, and Stuart Thompson. About 35 adults and youngsters are in the assembly today.

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The assembly known now as Rock Bible Chapel got its start in 1951 as a Sunday School work conducted by John Small at the town hall in the small town of Rock on the Upper Peninsula. In 1952, the Smalls built their home in Rock and held assembly meetings there for three years. Then in 1956, the Smalls built a chapel on the lot next to their home, and the work has been called Rock Bible Chapel since then. Benjamin Yeadon took principal responsibility for the work from 1968 until his death in 1998. William Ducote and Mike Lepisco have also shared leadership. About 125 adults and youngsters are in the assembly today.

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Asamblea Evangelica in Grand Rapids began in 1995 in the home of Ricardo and Diana Tavarez home. The Christians moved after that to 635 South Division, where they currently meet. The Spanish-speaking assembly consists of Christians from Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, as well as the U.S. (See Ethnic section)

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John Van Kammen, the father of Mrs. Betty Wunsch, emigrated from the Netherlands to Grand Rapids as a young man in 1902, and was saved while attending meetings at College Avenue Gospel Hall.

Cornelia DeJonge, commended by the Eastern and Baldwin assembly in 1925, was the first missionary to go out from West Michigan; she served in Africa. In 1951, Gerald and Betty Wunsch were commended by the assembly to the Lord’s work in New Guinea. They served the Lord for 41 years as missionaries in that country.

Kevin Dyer and Don Cole visited there periodically. Many missionaries have gone out from Forest Hills. Gerald and Betty Wuensch were honored by the government of Papua New Guinea for their work. Forest Hills has been active with Upper Peninsula Bible Camp where Russ and Ruth VanRyn worked as directors many summers.

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During the thirties, there was a great reaping in Grand Rapids. Peter and Will Pell largely held the same doctrines as H.A. Ironside; they worked with M.R. DeHaan in his early days; they also were great friends with Mel Trotter of Rescue Mission fame. These men, with David Otis Fuller were greatly used to shake Grand Rapids and to make it a kind of hub of evangelical and fundamentalist work. Peter and Will were active open-air preachers in those days.

Will Pell went to Bay City to a Bible Conference he had heard about and there met ‘open’ brethren preachers such as John Ferguson and Leonard Sheldrake. He found the believers in Bay City to be sound in faith and practice. The Pells after that identified with the ‘open’ assemblies. About that time an assembly began in Mr. Sharphorn’s woodworking shop behind his house in Grand Rapids. Later Will bought a building, which was called the Evangel Hall, for the assembly. In about 1958, the assembly moved to the present Northwest Gospel Hall at the corner of Garfield and Myrtle on the northwest side of Grand Rapids.

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A hive-off from Northwest Gospel Hall occurred in 1985 when Mr. and Mrs. John Sawyer and Mr. and Mrs. Karl Rewa joined with George and Nancy Sturm in order to establish an assembly in Allendale, west of Grand Rapids, called Fellowship Bible Chapel. The Rewas and Sturms were both trained through the Discipleship Intern Training Program at Fairhaven in California, and therefore followed much of the emphasis of Jean Gibson and Bill MacDonald at the first. This work, though small, goes on. At the start it was enlarged through outreach to Grand Valley State University in Allendale. Bob and Lois Sawyer came in about 1987 and during that time the assembly saw its greatest gains. Bob Sawyer was a roommate of Jim Elliott in his Wheaton College days; he and his wife Lois were of great help to the many young converts. In 1988 they responded to an invitation to help a missionary family in Spain and labored there for seven years. The Sturms went to Albania in 1992.

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The Burke Street Assembly in Grand Rapids began in 1991, springing up from among the many home schooling families in Grand Rapids. Most of the initial families did not have an assembly background, coming rather from Baptist, Reformed, charismatic, and independent church backgrounds. There are about 10 households in the Burke Street Assembly, which presently rents space in a Christian School. John Bjorlie, Sid Patten, and Larry Baker are the elders.

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Bailey is north of Grand Rapids and Newaygo is nine miles north of Bailey. The assembly meeting for many years at Newaygo Gospel Chapel moved to Bailey in the early 1980s. After a division, some of the believers joined with the Bailey Gospel Chapel and others formed the Newaygo Believer’s Bible Chapel.

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