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Our History
Fifty years on Wyoming Avenue — two generations of the Staten family, and a congregation that has never stopped showing up.
In 2025 Unity Temple Church marked fifty years of ministry under a single seal: Empowered by Faith — Imparting Generations. Both halves of that line are the story.
Timeline
1975
Bishop Gaston Staten, Sr. founds Unity Temple
Unity Temple was founded under the leadership of the late Bishop Gaston Staten, Sr. Bishop Staten, Lady Lavern Staten, and the leadership staff carefully built the church on solid Bible doctrine — the foundation everything since has been laid on.
The years that followed
Thousands reached, and a neighborhood served
The ministry reached thousands with the Gospel message and helped many individuals across the country in their Christian walk. The church actively preached the Word, fed the hungry, visited and ministered to the sick, tutored young people toward their educational goals, and provided temporary shelter for the homeless.
2007
The mantle passes to Bishop Steven Staten
In September 2007, the mantle of leadership was passed to the founder’s son. Under his straightforward leadership, Bishop Steven Staten is impacting the community, building leaders for the 21st century, and changing lives by preaching, teaching and modeling Christian success. Love and evangelism are the emphasis of his ministry.
2025
Fifty years — Empowered by Faith, Imparting Generations
Half a century after the doors first opened, the church that a father built is led by his son, and the children of the first members are raising children of their own in the same sanctuary. Members still write in to say so.
Today
Still here, still preaching, still setting the table
Sunday worship at 11:00. Bible study on Wednesday. Breakfast for the men on the second Saturday. And every Tuesday evening, the voice of Unity Temple goes out over Detroit on WCHB 1340 AM.
“Praise the Lord saints. I’m Sis. Betty O’Neal, daughter Sabrina. I love my home church and I thank God for being brought up and taught the word of God by Bishop Gaston Staten! And being baptized at age 11 by Elder Gilford! Raise a child in the way it should go and it will not depart from it!”
— Sis. Betty O’Neal, writing to the church
A generational church
Imparting generations
The fiftieth-anniversary seal sits on the front of the pulpit every Sunday, where the congregation can see it. It is a reminder that this church was built to be handed on — from Bishop Gaston Staten, Sr. to Bishop Steven Staten, and from the members who came in 1975 to the young people they brought with them.
Fifty years is not the finish line. It is the record of a promise being kept.
Be part of the next chapter
The best way to understand fifty years of this church is to sit in it for one Sunday.