The history of Northwest cannot be written separate and a part from the Westside congregation. Northwest is the outgrowth of long range planning which took place in the minds of the leadership of Westside. On October 10, 1971, about two-thirds of the Westside membership moved into the Northwest building to establish a congregation among the blacks who recently moved into the community. Flowers, John C. Holt, and Scott N. The deacons were Coy Burgess, Alanzo Carter, Ray Jennings, Hurley Ford, Charles Tremple, and Rufus Houston Sr. The ministers were Woodrow A. Wilson, John R. Flowers, and Joseph
Lewis. Carl Mitchell was the missionary to Jamaica. With the oversight of the work in Jamaica, Northwest became the first black church among the brotherhood to take the full and complete oversight of a missionary work outside of the United States. In 1974, Woodrow Wilson resigned. In 1975, Arthur Williams and his family joined the Northwest family. In 1976, Northwest became autonomous. In 1978, Arthur Williams was ordained as an evangelist, and John W. Phillips was ordained as an elder. Over the years, Northwest became one of the largest congregations in Michigan and was known for its Bible knowledge under the leadership of John R. Flowers and John W. Phillips. In 2002, Arthur Williams made his transition and Stanley Daniel occupied the pulpit until 2003. In 2003, Zachary Pope, former Youth Minister, along with the Great Lakes congregation united with Northwest. Zachary Pope, became the pulpit minister on October 13, 2003, and Stanley Daniel became associate minister. Another major historic event took place on January 30, 2005. Stanley Daniel, Frank Nesbit, and Benjamin Williams were ordained as elders. In addition, Willie Franklin and Donald Wright were ordained as deacons. Zachary Pope resigned as minister in March 2005. Effective October 10, 2005 Patrick Medlock became the minister. As a congregation, we look forward to serving God and taking Northwest to the next level.
