With his family still in Detroit, Elder Spratt commuted back and forth to Lansing holding services in a small house on Lenawee Street.  Soon after, the church moved to 708 Division Street where Elder Spratt remodeled and converted the house into a church building.  There were two rooms, resembling a living room and dining room, a bedroom and a toilet.  Although it may sound somewhat funny, there was not a ‘bathroom’ but just a toilet.  The back of the house, which was a coal shed, was converted into a pulpit area.  The baptismal pool was recessed in the floor.  When there were candidates for baptism, the Minster had to move a plank or sub-floor in order to baptize the individual.  Elder Spratt invited missionaries and ministers to come from Detroit to help build the work here…and more people began getting saved.

 

Various transitions occurred over the next few decades.  The following ministers served as pastors for Bethlehem Temple: Elder Carl Felton, from Flint, MI, served as an interim pastor during a period of time; Elder Arnett Thompson from Muskegon Heights served as pastor; Elder Spratt returned for a period of time to pastor; and Elder Raymond Lloyd, who was responsible for building the church building on St. Joseph Street.  Elder Lloyd resigned in 1940, which left the church without a pastor for a brief period.

 

A short time later, Elder Sylvester Winston was sent from “The Temple” to serve as pastor for Bethlehem Temple Church in Lansing.  Under his pastorate the church membership began to grow substantially.  Elder Winston established a choir, which was somewhat courageous because there was not a choir at the mother church in Detroit.  Around the year 1960 the St. Joseph Street building was sold to the state.  A delegation of twelve members went to look at another location, 500 E. Grand River Avenue.  Some wondered why so large a building for so small a congregation, but it was obvious that Elder Winston had a vision.  That vision contributed to the church ministry continuing to flourish, and host many soul-winning revivals.  On one occasion Elder James Wooten, from Detroit, preached a message entitled “The Crucifixion” and seventeen souls were baptized in Jesus’ Name!  In 1964, Bishop Hancock elevated Elder Winston to District Elder.  When District Elder Winston’s pastorate ended in 1972, the church had grown to approximately one hundred members.

 

In 1972 the Lord blessed Bethlehem Temple Church of Lansing with the dynamic leadership of Bishop Alfred Singleton.  Bishop Singleton had served as an Assistant Pastor at “The Temple” under Bishop Hancock in the 1950’s before moving to California where he founded several churches in that state.  Bishop Singleton served in many capacities within the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith (PCAF) while pastoring at the Bread House. The highest honor was extended when he was unanimously selected to the office of Presiding Prelate for the PCAF, in which he served two consecutive terms (2000- 2008).

 

Under Bishop’s pastorate the church continued to grow with membership escalating over three hundred and fifty.  The church purchased the Cedar Street School building that was adjacent to it and did extensive work updating and renovating both buildings.  In the late 1990’s, the church executive leadership realized that the location on Grand River would not continue to suffice the growing membership and ministry needs, so they began looking for another building or property on which they would build a new church. With Bishop’s vision of expanding the ministry to spread the Word of God not only in the local area, but nationally, and ultimately globally, the Lord provided a “diamond in the midst of the city.” 

 

 

 

 

The membership worked hard and in August of 2000 the church moved to its current location at 1518 S. Washington Avenue.  The name Bethlehem actually means “house of bread’.  Since the church had served as a

resource and refuge for so many over the years, it was upon this move that the church decided to incorporate the name “Bread House” into its official name. 

 

In March of 2011, Bishop Singleton passed the Pastoral mantle to his son, District Elder Alfred P. Singleton, who served as his Assistant Pastor for over 27 years.  District Elder Singleton now serves as Senior Pastor of the Bread House and has been elevated to the office of Episcopal Bishop within the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith, Inc.

 

The Bread House now has a building that is equipped to meet the needs of the membership and the community at large having hosted many municipal functions, PCAF conferences, community festivals, Capital Area Head Start, Red Cross Food Bank, among numerous spiritually enriched services with dynamic preachers from near and far.  Additionally in 2003, the Bread House was expanded to address the growing need for ministering the Word of God to the Hispanic community and now incorporates the Bread House Spanish Ministries.  For many years the church’s tag line was “A Church for All People.”  Further actualization of this phrase has come to fruition with the additional expansion which incorporates the Bread House Burmese Ministry.  This ministry serves the growing Burmese community in the Lansing area of who are excited about learning the Word of God.

 

With the ever increasing need for the Word of God to be shed into the hearts of mankind, to save souls, bring deliverance and healing, and usher humans into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the vision and ministry work of the Bread House continues.  All Glory to God!