Our History

Although God's House of Prayer began as a congregation on March 12, 2000, its history dates back as far as 1886.  God's House of Prayer is a congregation which grew out of the demise of Joy United Church of Christ, a congregation founded in 1977; as the result of a merger between two other congregations, on Detroit's westside, known as Boulevard Congregational Church and Christ United Church of Christ.

Christ Church, located at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Roosevelt Street, was founded in 1886 as Christ Evangelical and Reformed Church.  It was a German American congregation in which most of the worship celebrations were conducted in the German language until about 1950.  By 1940, must of its German American members had moved out of the old neighborhood where the worship center was located.  They did not return to the old neighborhood to worship in the old facility. Instead, they founded new – or joined existing – congregations in their new neighborhoods.  Reluctantly, Christ Church opened its doors to its new neighbors, who were primarily African Americans, in 1963. To aid in the cultural transition of the congregation, they called their first African American pastor, the Reverend Cameron Byrd. Previously, Reverend Byrd was the assistant pastor at Detroit's Plymouth Congregational Church.  His dynamic style of ministry caused an immediate growth of membership from people in the neighborhood. 

Boulevard Church, located at the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Warren Avenue, was founded in 1896. Its constituency was mainly European-Americans whose families had migrated to these shores from Ireland, Scotland and England.  By 1940, it too found itself surround by neighbors who were primarily African Americans.  In effort to maintain the racial identity of its congregation, its white members moved from the old worship center and built new one on Joy Road between Steel and Sorrento in 1945.  By 1960, the congregation found itself once again surrounded by African-American neighbors.  Boulevard Church resisted opening its door to their new neighbors until the late 1960's.  The decline in membership continued until 1968, when the remaining members developed a strategy for attracting its new neighbors by calling two pastors:  the late Reverend Edgar Flood, an African American, and the late Reverend John Metler, a European American.  Unfortunately, this strategy did not work and was abandoned in 1976.

In 1957, the two denominations of which these two congregations were members to, the Evangelical and reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Church, merged to form a new denomination known as the United Church of Christ.

In mid-1976, the remaining members of Boulevard Church, sought to call the late Reverend Joseph Earle Lloyd to become their new pastor.  He had served as the pastor of Christ Church congregation since 1974. 

After nearly 25 years of trying to get the United Church of Christ as a denomination to live up to its name, Pastor Lloyd became exasperated with its policies which were becoming more unrighteous every year. He decided to withdraw from that denomination and urged the members of Joy Church congregation to do the same.  After months of prayerful deliberations, the congregation agreed and decided to begin a new congregation.  They chose God's House of Prayer as their new corporate name.  Highly motivated to carry out mission assignments, the congregation seeks to address the need of people in the Detroit area while proclaiming the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST.

In December 2012, the late Pastor Joseph Earle Lloyd retired as Pastor.  In January 2013, Pastor Warner G Walker, Sr. was voted unanimously to lead this congregation.  Pastor Walker is ably assisted by Minister Earle M. Lloyd.

We thank our great God for having brought us this far by His grace and mercy.  We are determined to continue growing in service to our LORD JESUS CHRIST and the CHURCH given to HIM by His Father in heaven.