CHURCH HISTORY
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​Unity Baptist Church was organized from a home-to-home weekly Prayer Meeting and Bible study group of eight God-fearing African American Christians who resided on the westside of Detroit, Michigan. One of the first meetings was held at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Atticus Kemp at 7693 Central.  Shortly thereafter, the meeting was moved to the home of Rev. and Mrs. Fluker at 7595 Central. The group quickly expanded to eighteen persons.  In December 1926, the group saw the need to formalize and establish a church in the community, and from a suggestion by Mrs. Rosebud Smith, the name “Unity Baptist Church” was accepted.  Rev. O. C. White was elected to serve as Moderator.
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​​From these humble beginnings, the Unity Baptist Church had its inception and continued to grow.  Rev. James S. Murray was elected pastor while the group was still worshipping in the basement of Rev. & Mrs. Fluker’s home.  Rev. Murray served the congregation as pastor from 1927 until 1937.  In 1927, the congregation moved into its first church building, which was located at 7513 Bryden, on the corner of Bryden and Roy Street. In 1937, Rev. J. H. Hankerson was called as pastor and served the congregation from 1937 until 1939. Rev. James J. Goss served the congregation from 1939 until 1945. Rev. Clarence E. Palmer was called to pastorate in 1945.  Under his leadership, the building located on the corner at 7527 Tireman and American, the Oakland Bank Building was purchased and renovated into the new church known as the “Old Bank Building.”  In 1947, Rev. Clarence Bolden was called to the pastorate and served the congregation until Rev. A. Daniel James was elected pastor in 1948 to serve until 1962.  The latter portion of 1962 found the church without a Shepherd and in great financial crisis.  It was during this interim period that Deacon Rufus Jackson and various officers led the church until a new pastor was called.

On March 17, 1963, Rev. Valmon D. Stotts was called to the pastorate of Unity Baptist Church.  By 1964 with Almighty God guiding our new pastor and the new determination by the people, the church liquidated its indebtedness by burning its first mortgage.  The Sunday morning attendance expanded as more individuals came to Christ.  This necessitated the need for a larger edifice.  Pastor Stotts began motivating the congregation toward his vision of a larger and more spacious church facility to accommodate the rapid membership growth.  On Sunday, March 28, 1971, Pastor Stotts, along with the Officers, Members, friends, and the entire congregation broke ground for our present church edifice, which began construction on Labor Day 1971.  On Sunday, June 25, 1972, the mission was more than accomplished and the dream became a fact when the congregation marched into the newly constructed million-dollar present edifice.  Under Pastor Stotts leadership, Unity Baptist Church has burned three mortgages, expanded the sanctuary, added of the Educational Wing including a Library.  He established Unity’s participation in several Associations, including Metropolitan District Congress of Christian Education (MEDCCE), Wolverine State Baptist Convention, and the National Baptist Convention.
 
There were several ministries developed under the pastorage of Rev. Dr. Valmon D. Stotts which includes the expansion the Missionary Department, age-related Sunday School classes, the establishment of New Member Classes, the Altar Circle, expansion of the Ministerial Staff, the Board of Christian Education, Children’s Church, the Youth Department and Youth Pastor, the Nursery Department, Unity Bible Institute (U.B.I.), the Scholarship Committee known as the Scholarship Empowerment Achievement Ministry (SEAM), Care Ministry, New Member Ministry, the Young Adult Ministry, Evangelism Ministry, expansion of the Usher Department, the Transportation and Media Ministry, the Outreach and Culinary Ministry, various other ministries, workshops and retreats.  The Music Department continued to develop and flourish into various age level choirs under the leadership of Dr. Dorgan J. Needom, Minister of Music.
 
On Sunday, June 13, 2010, Pastor & Mrs. Stotts and Family, Officers, Members, Friends, Clergy and Political Leaders came together to celebrate the official street renaming of Tireman Avenue to “Rev. Valmon D. Stotts Avenue.”  He was honored by The National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. for 50 years in pastoral ministry. Pastor Stotts officially retired as Pastor of Unity Baptist Church on May 1, 2013, after 50 years of service and was honored with the title of Pastor Emeritus.  The Lord called Pastor Stotts home on Sunday, November 30, 2014. 
 
Rev. Dr. Lee C. Winfrey, Sr. served as pastor from January 25, 2015 until March 17, 2018.
 
Rev. Marvin Glaze, Sr. was called to take the pulpit in March 2018.  He was officially installed as the Interim Pastor on Sunday, July 1, 2018.  He took on all aspects of the pastorate and continued to minister to the congregation in preaching and teaching.  He maintained the stability of the church spiritually and financially with steadfast leadership until at such time a pastor was elected by the congregation.   Rev. Glaze served as Interim Pastor until March of 2020.
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On March 28, 2020, Rev. Jerome L. Warfield, Sr. was called to the pastorate of Unity Baptist Church.  On Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020, he preached his first sermon.  Pastor Warfield came to Unity during a tumultuous time as the nation and world faced a global pandemic.  Churches, including Unity were required to shutter their doors, however this was not a deterrent to Pastor Warfield who believed that the Word of God must go forth. He developed a Media Team to ensure that the teaching of God’s Word would be accessible to the masses by broadcasting the services on Facebook and YouTube.  During this unprecedented time, Pastor Warfield ministered to the congregation in preaching, teaching, counsel, and hospital visitations.  Under his stewardship souls continued to join the body of Christ as he faithfully brought the Word of God to the people of God. Pastor Warfield ensured that Sunday School, Bible Study, and Youth Sunday School continued as well. In the summer of 2021, the church held three first Sunday services in our parking area and the congregation happily reunited when Worship Service resumed in the church on Sunday, August 1, 2021.
 
In December of 2021, Unity Baptist Church celebrated 95 years of telling the GOOD NEWS that Jesus died for our sins, he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He is coming back again! We give all Praise, Honor and Glory to our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST for bringing us this far by FAITH!