At 903 E 13th Avenue in Anchorage, Greater Friendship Baptist Church is known as Alaska's first Black church and the first Black church in America to affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention. Founded in 1951 with 32 baptized believers, Greater Friendship is a congregation focused on leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through worship, discipleship, music, ministries for every generation, and service.
Alaska's First Black Church
The church grew from 32 baptized believers who gathered in 1951 under founding pastor Reverend Charles Kennedy. The early group included Brother and Sister Hawkins, Brother and Sister Johnson, Brother and Sister Dockery, Deacon and Sister Chamberliss, and Sister Vanee Robinson, together with many others whose sacrifices sustained the congregation in its early development.
First worship services took place in the basement of the First Baptist Church of Anchorage. After several months, the congregation moved to Pioneer Hall at 6th and F Streets. A third move in 1952 took it to 12th and Cordova. The church then purchased land at its present 903 East 13th Avenue location, and Reverend Charles Kennedy dedicated the building that year.
The founding of Greater Friendship planted a seed for other Black churches in Alaska. The congregation's early development is therefore connected to the history of churches later organized from its growth, including Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and New Hope Baptist Church.
A Building Lost, a Congregation Kept
Only a year after moving into the new building, it caught fire in 1953 and burned. The congregation returned to the 12th and Cordova location, worked together on renovations, and moved back in 1955 to the 13th and Ingra Streets location. Those repeated relocations became a defining lesson for Greater Friendship: all things are possible through faith in God.
In 1994, Greater Friendship bought a parcel at 16th Avenue and C Street in Anchorage as property for building a new church. Its story includes a long history of relocation, rebuilding, and the formation of churches from a growing fellowship.
Greater Friendship's succession of pastors includes Reverend Charles Kennedy (1951-1955), Reverend L. Lewis (1955-1959), Reverend O. R. Pigford (1960-1962), Reverend Leo Josey Sr. (1962-1969), Reverend H. Ring Griffin Jr. (1969-1970), Reverend Cammie L. Watkins (1971-1974), Reverend Charlie Dargan (1975-1985), Reverend Mark Smith as interim pastor (1985-1986), Reverend John L. Smith (1986-1995 and 2011-2013), Reverend Clifton J. Gay III as interim pastor in 1996, Reverend Leon D. May I (1997-2009), and Reverend Michael A. Bunton, who has led the church since 2014.
Growing in Relationship with Jesus Christ
Greater Friendship states that its mission is leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Its vision is to disciple the world by training and equipping people with the Word of God through the love of Jesus Christ. The church also expresses that vision as loving and training disciples through the Word of God and the power of the Holy Ghost, citing Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.
The church believes that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, that it cleanses the soul, holds the words of eternal life and the keys to the Kingdom of God, and shows God's principles and standards for living. It also describes Scripture as food that sustains people in all circumstances. Alongside this confidence in the Bible, Greater Friendship describes God's love as unconditional and not based on human feelings or whether someone is lovable: God is love. The church's motto is God's Love Has No Boundaries.
Sunday School at 9:30 and Worship at 11:00
The church's regular gatherings take place at 903 E 13th Ave in Anchorage:
- Sunday School: 9:30 a.m., for all ages
- Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.
- Wednesday Prayer and Bible Study: 7:00 p.m., for all ages
The 11:00 a.m. worship gathering is supported by a worship ministry with adult, youth, and children's choirs, a drama team, a media ministry, ushers, and greeters. One of its teaching themes is finding victory over anger, resentment, and bitterness. The Wednesday gathering is designated for all ages and includes both prayer and Bible study.
The all-ages approach connects the church's main teaching times with its age-specific ministries. Nursery and children's work form part of Next Gen, while the separate adult ministries extend the same discipleship emphasis through singles, marriage, senior, and wellness groups. Ushers and greeters have their own place in the worship ministry.
Next Gen Through Adult Life
Children, nursery, and youth
The Next Gen ministry includes children's ministry, nursery ministry, and youth ministry. Its central aim is to involve children in church services and help them understand that even at a young age they can praise the Lord through song, dance, drama, and other gifts God has given them. The youth ministry promotes spiritual growth through Bible teaching, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and fun. It seeks to prepare young people both for work in ministry and to pursue God's will, purpose, and destiny for their lives.
Ministries for adults
Adult ministries include men's, women's, young adult, singles, married couples, senior, and wellness groups. The church organizes distinct groups for different stages of adult life while keeping them within its wider emphasis on discipleship. Sunday School and Wednesday Night Prayer and Bible Study are also designated as all-ages ministries.
Choirs, Drama, and Congregational Care
Music is a prominent part of the congregation's life, with separate adult, youth, and children's choirs and a drama team. Media, ushers, and greeters are also organized ministries, while the Next Gen description specifically calls out song and dance as ways for children to participate. The church's congregational care work is organized through the diaconate, assimilation, benevolence, encouragement, and bereavement ministries.
Other church committees and service teams include hospitality, decoration, anniversary, scholarship and graduation, transportation, security, and building maintenance. Trustees and finance also have defined responsibilities. Together these roles support the regular worship, teaching, outreach, and congregational life at East 13th Avenue.
Food Drives, Job Connection, and Jail Ministry
Greater Friendship's outreach extends beyond the church through monthly participation in local food drives and a partnership with Kids Kitchen. Job Connection and Recovery are named outreach ministries alongside Evangelism. Pastor Michael Bunton also conducts weekly Bible studies at the 4th Avenue Jail and Correction Facility, adding prison ministry to the church's local service.
Giving is described as a response to God. The church supports a General Fund and a Campaign Fund, and people may direct gifts toward either one. Online giving accepts credit or debit cards, while checks can be placed in secure giving boxes and do not require offering envelopes. The church encourages people to seek direction, choose a regular percentage, and notes that beginning with 10 percent is a model rather than a requirement. Online giving options are available.
The church's giving guidance also emphasizes the condition of the giver's heart rather than the size of the gift. Online gifts can be recurring, checks are matched to the giver's account, and people who want offering envelopes may request them. Contributions without a designated fund are attributed to the General Fund, while staff and board members consider how funds are distributed among ministries.
Pastor Michael Bunton and First Lady Nathalie Bunton
Pastor Michael Andrew Bunton was licensed as a minister of the gospel in 1989 and ordained in 1992 by his father, Reverend William A. Bunton Jr. Before entering full-time ministry, Pastor Bunton worked for five years in the Anchorage School District and for seven years at the University of Alaska Anchorage as director of the Upward Bound Program, which served first-generation and low-income students across Alaska. During his tenure, the program was regarded as one of the most successful in the nation.
He later served 20 years at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church under Dr. A. B. Patterson, first as associate pastor and worship pastor. His responsibilities included youth and young adults, membership and congregational care, parish life, and assimilation. At Greater Friendship, his pastoral leadership includes expanding evangelism and volunteer work, monthly food drives, the Kids Kitchen partnership, and weekly Bible study at the jail and correction facility.
First Lady and Deaconess Nathalie Bunton moved to Alaska in 1999 and served 14 years at Shiloh in children's, women's, music, discipleship, and youth ministries. After two years of leadership training, she was ordained a deaconess in November 2010. At Greater Friendship, she serves as media ministry director and choir director for the adult and children's choirs, teaches Bible study to elementary and middle school students, and serves on the women's ministry core team.
Bunton's professional life has included management in the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization, where she oversees human resources and personnel actions for approximately 170 employees. That administrative background accompanies her ministry responsibilities as deaconess, media and choir director, Bible study teacher, and women's ministry team member.
A Legacy That Continues in Anchorage
At 903 E 13th Avenue, Greater Friendship Baptist Church carries a history of faith, survival after fire, and service. Its work joins a Black Baptist foundation rooted in 1951 with a regular rhythm of Sunday and Wednesday gatherings, ministries for children and adults, worship through choir and drama, and practical outreach in Anchorage. The church describes itself as a place where hearts are transformed, minds renewed, and lives changed, with its mission centered on a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.