Upstream seeks out people that are impacting the world around them but lack
Three weeks later that Sunday school expanded to morning worship and evening service. So, Pastor Milton Chambers decided it was recruitment time! He and his group went door – to –door, handing out tracks, visiting, and inviting people to come check out the new church. Within six months the congregation had grown to 70 people. And so, he thought, the small school room was good for a small number of people but a growing body needs growing space so he went a bigger school. Off he went down the street to John DeGraff Elementary School, where once again they were overcome by his charm and good looks and granted him space. By 1978 the group was registered as the Bible Church of God Inc.
Not far away from the new Bible Church of God another gentleman was feeling the call to start a work. Apparently, he started in his home, then the group started meeting at the Calvin Christian School. You may have noticed both churches had a school background, make sure you learn something before we graduate. For example, imagine having to put up chairs before each meeting, pull them down, neatly stack them away after and clean up your area and leave it ready for class the next day.
Pastor Murray may have had a smaller congregation but the struggles of transporting people back and forth were quite similar to Pastor Chambers. The growing pains of working with different people from different backgrounds and creating and maintaining harmony and a sense of warmth and belonging was definitely parallel in both churches.
About 4 years after the church was registered as the North Kildonan Church of God, in 1985, regrettably Pastor Murray passed away from this dimension. However, he passed the baton on to Pastor Wendell Dehaney, who later moved the congregation to a building they purchased on Logan Ave. Due to the change of location, they were forced to change names and so they became Pathway Church of God.
During this time Bible Church of God had changed location a few times, first, they bought a building on 265 Inkster Blvd. and it became their church home for about 14 years until the Lord once again enlarged their boundaries and they purchased 51 Richfield Ave in 1994. Something else was happening during this time, our God was planting a Vincentian gentleman and his wife by the name of Calvert and Sylvonne Layne in their midst, setting him up as a Joshua to carry on the work of Moses and cause the people to continue on to the promised land.
We will, by our example, model the highest standards of Christian conduct and practice as we fulfill our duties to God, our Church, our Families, and our Community.