The Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church was organized from a council meeting held at the home of Rev. Caesar and Sis. Susie Scott on May 9, 1935. The council comprised of Rev. Bowman, Rev. Ira Watkins, Rev. James Dudley, Rev. Henry Roster, Rev. Edmondson, Deacons Anthony Polk, Henry Martin, Isaiah Johnson, Sr. and Tobe Fisher. Rev. Bowman was elected Chairman of the Counsel and Rev. Ira Watkins was elected Secretary. There were 16 members in the organizing of the Church. Sis. Susie Scott named the Macedonia Baptist Church from the scripture in Acts 16:9 and Rev. Joseph Mack was elected the first Pastor and served faithfully until his death in 1940. His passing grieved the members inexpressively, for he died a sudden death.
Rev. Ira Watkins was elected to succeed Rev. Mack as the pastor of Macedonia where services were held in the store-front building at 1116 Hickory Street. At that time, there were 42 members on-roll and the membership grew year after year under his leadership. With the help and guidance of God, Rev. Watkins was able to perform his vision by organizing many auxiliaries of the church. Through his effort, the auxiliaries proved to be of great value in the support of the church.
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” In 1944, Macedonia started a fund for building a new edifice. The Building Fund grew rapidly and the membership was able to enter the new building on March 7, 1954. As life is given, death too must come. On October 10, 1960, our beloved Pastor, Rev. Ira Watkins, departed from this life for a better land where the son of God doeth reign. Rev. Watkins is not forgotten, for old soldiers never die, they just sleep away.
God’s work still goes on. God had another messenger to carry on His work. Rev. J.C. Curry, being a faithful and active member of the church and president of the Baptist Training Union was elected the third pastor of Macedonia on December 31, 1960. Due to the rapid changes being made in the city of Flint, Macedonia was situated in a geographical location of an Urban Renewal Project. For this reason, the congregation had to relocate and purchased five (5) acres of land located at G-5443 N. Saginaw Road. On September 24, 1972, Macedonia held a ground breaking ceremony to begin construction of a new edifice.
“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” On January 20, 1974, the members of Macedonia assembled at the old church for Devotional Services before proceeding to travel via motorcade to the new church for the Entering Day Service. This was indeed a glorious time for all the members of Macedonia and will be cherished by many for years to come. The Macedonia Baptist Church flourished under Rev. Curry’s great leadership. The church subsequently built a parsonage and purchased additional land along N. Saginaw Road. In addition, the following new initiatives were formulated under his pastorage: New Member Classes, an Evangelistic Team, the Security Team, the Carriage Town Mission Feeding Program and issuing holiday food vouchers for the less fortunate in the community.
Rev. Curry served as pastor for over 40 years, always giving of time and of himself. Although Rev. Curry retired from the office of pastor in July, 2001, he never retired from the ministry of preaching God’s word. On February 7, 2002, Rev. Curry joined the heavenly band that is continually marching to Zion, where he exchanged his cross for his crown.
In August, 2001, the Executive Boards of the church were formally charged with the responsibility to function as Pulpit Committee in search of a new pastor. On May 18, 2002, the Pulpit Committee recommended to the church membership that Rev. Alfred L. Harris, Sr. of Minneapolis, Minnesota become its’ fourth pastor. The recommendation was adopted and Rev. Harris accepted the call and began serving in this capacity on Sunday, August 4, 2002. Under his leadership, there were several remodeling projects completed, the installation of state of the art audio-visual equipment, enhancements to the music ministry and the creation of the men and women ministries.
On February 11, 2011, Rev. Harris resigned as pastor of Macedonia to pursue other opportunities. The Pulpit Committee, headed by Dea. Vinson Lever, was formulated and charged with the search for a new pastor. Through the grace of God, the church membership was resilient and persevered by adopting the theme, “Praying, Watching, and Waiting,” during this time of transition without a pastor. Subsequently, a Special Church Business Meeting was held on June 23, 2012, where the Pulpit Committee recommended that Bishop Neal Roberson of Lansing, Michigan become Macedonia’s fifth pastor. The recommendation was adopted and Bishop Roberson accepted this call and began serving on Sunday, August 5, 2012.
Under Bishop Roberson’s leadership, the ministries of the church flourished, praise and worship elevated to a new dimension, and a large number of lives came to Christ as “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” In addition, during his tenure, the pulpit area of the sanctuary was remodeled and the church commenced the live streaming of its’ worship services. On September 28, 2015, Bishop Roberson resigned as pastor to pursue other opportunities afforded him.
The pulpit of the Macedonia Baptist Church remained vacant for approximately 1½ years. Subsequently, at a Church Business Meeting held on June 6, 2017, the Pastoral Search Committee recommended that Samuel Berry, III of Detroit, Michigan become pastor of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church. The recommendation was accepted by the membership and Pastor Berry accepted the call and preached his first sermon as Senior Pastor on June 18, 2017.
The Macedonia Church Family recognizes that God is faithful and it is our prayer that God will continue to lead, guide, and protect as we continue to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”