Church History
The Eliezer Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith was established in 1962 under the leadership of the late Bishop Sandy Dunlap. This ministry was built on the truth of the word. Without compromise known as a “true man of God” Bishop Sandy Dunlap was a faithful pastor whose love for God was evident through his actions and words. God had given Bishop Sandy Dunlap a vision and told him that in the area that Eliezer Church of Christ is located in, he had “much people”. At the time the vision was given to Bishop Sandy Dunlap, the land had not been developed, nor the current Rosewind Housing Development, formerly known as Windsor Terrace. With blind faith in God, Bishop Sandy Dunlap stepped out, building the church without the backing of a financial institution.
The name Eliezer means “God helps” and as the mission of the servant Eliezer in the Bible, we are about getting a bride for Christ, a people willing to serve God and mankind. Under the spiritual leadership of Bishop Sandy Dunlap, many ministers received encouragement to branch out and carry on the ministry for Christ. Bishop Sandy Dunlap’s son Raymond Dunlap Sr. moved to Michigan and established the Eliezer Church of Christ number 2 and under his leadership, many others have branched out and started Churches all acknowledging the teaching and training through Bishop Sandy Dunlap. There are also local members that have branched out from Eliezer Church of Christ and started their own locations starting off as ministers at Eliezer.
Our current Pastor Elder Phillip A. Smedley Sr. was taught under the leadership of Bishop Sandy Dunlap, after Elder Smedley received his license in 1990, he later became the assistant pastor for Bishop Sandy Dunlap. After the demise of Bishop Sandy Dunlap at the age of 93 years old in 1996, Eliezer Church voted Elder Smedley as the new pastor and he has picked up the vision of Bishop Sandy Dunlap and is running with the vision and the now evident words that there are indeed “much people” in this area and we have to reach out to them as a source of direction for weary and seeking people. Elder Smedley has taken the church to another level in his goals to reach out to our community that we worship in. Elder Smedley has been the President of the Linden Advisory Council very much concerned about the community, and with his leadership the church has purchased several houses in the linden area including the one that has been torn down where we are to build our new edifice and another torn down where we have outdoor services along with clothing and food give-a-ways Eliezer Church of Christ is about reaching out to our community and has been involved in community health fairs, we hold free clothing give-a-ways, healthy heart workshops as well as leadership and abuse workshops, Thanksgiving and Christmas food and gift give a ways, back to school give a ways just to name a few. As God has shown us there is “much People” in this location we must do “much work”.
The name Eliezer means “God helps” and as the mission of the servant Eliezer in the Bible, we are about getting a bride for Christ, a people willing to serve God and mankind. Under the spiritual leadership of Bishop Sandy Dunlap, many ministers received encouragement to branch out and carry on the ministry for Christ. Bishop Sandy Dunlap’s son Raymond Dunlap Sr. moved to Michigan and established the Eliezer Church of Christ number 2 and under his leadership, many others have branched out and started Churches all acknowledging the teaching and training through Bishop Sandy Dunlap. There are also local members that have branched out from Eliezer Church of Christ and started their own locations starting off as ministers at Eliezer.
Our current Pastor Elder Phillip A. Smedley Sr. was taught under the leadership of Bishop Sandy Dunlap, after Elder Smedley received his license in 1990, he later became the assistant pastor for Bishop Sandy Dunlap. After the demise of Bishop Sandy Dunlap at the age of 93 years old in 1996, Eliezer Church voted Elder Smedley as the new pastor and he has picked up the vision of Bishop Sandy Dunlap and is running with the vision and the now evident words that there are indeed “much people” in this area and we have to reach out to them as a source of direction for weary and seeking people. Elder Smedley has taken the church to another level in his goals to reach out to our community that we worship in. Elder Smedley has been the President of the Linden Advisory Council very much concerned about the community, and with his leadership the church has purchased several houses in the linden area including the one that has been torn down where we are to build our new edifice and another torn down where we have outdoor services along with clothing and food give-a-ways Eliezer Church of Christ is about reaching out to our community and has been involved in community health fairs, we hold free clothing give-a-ways, healthy heart workshops as well as leadership and abuse workshops, Thanksgiving and Christmas food and gift give a ways, back to school give a ways just to name a few. As God has shown us there is “much People” in this location we must do “much work”.
