Tucked along Pleasant Union Church Road in northern Raleigh, Pleasant Union Christian Church of North Raleigh has been a steady presence in its community for more than a century and a half. The church's motto is "We've Come This Far by Faith", echoing the journey that began around 1860, when the congregation's earliest members worshipped under a bush arbor on the same tract of land where the present sanctuary, fellowship hall, and cemetery now stand. Pastored since 1987 by Reverend Michael Allen, the church pairs traditional Sunday morning worship with midweek Bible study, a long-running homeless ministry at the Helen Wright Center, and a calendar of choirs, youth programs, and seasonal gatherings.
A Sunday Morning on Pleasant Union Church Road
Worship at Pleasant Union follows a rhythm that begins before the formal service. Sunday School starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by a devotional service at 9:45 a.m. and the Sunday Worship Service at 10:00 a.m. The order gives the congregation time to teach, pray, and then gather for the main service, where choirs and scripture reading are central. Members also gather at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesdays for a daytime Bible study and again at 7:00 p.m. for an evening session. Both Bible studies are led or overseen by the pastor.
Four choirs serve the sanctuary under Pastor Allen's leadership: the Anointed Voices of Praise, the Male Chorus, New Genesis, and the Spiritual Choir. The music ministry is built around traditional hymn singing and choral anthems, with the Minister/Director of Music responsible for selecting music that fits the mood and theme of each service. Ushers greet worshippers, hand out bulletins, and escort visitors to seats.
The church livestreams its services, and recordings can be viewed via the livestream. A messages archive holds videos from Pastor Allen, Associate Ministers Barbara Chambers, Erica Young, Kenneth Scott, Merrick Turner, and Tammie Turner, as well as Manna Matters audio segments and special services.
Pastor Michael Allen and the Pastoral Staff
Reverend Michael Allen has spent more than 47 years in ministry, with 37 of those years devoted to Pleasant Union. He accepted the call to pastor the church in 1987 and shares the work with his wife, First Lady Jennifer Allen, who has stood alongside him in ministry for the past 50 years. Pastor Allen describes his leadership in service-oriented terms, pointing to years spent working as a life coach, library assistant, financial assistant, and administrative assistant as part of the same calling. The Pastor's Corner invites visitors to email questions directly to the pastor.
The pastoral team includes Associate Ministers Barbara Chambers, Sharon Spell, Kenneth Scott, and Etta Shaw, along with Minister Merrick Turner and Minister Tammie Turner. Missionary Lena Townes directs the Missions Ministry, and Erica Young serves as Youth Leader. Associate Ministers support the pastor during Sunday worship and Bible study, preach and teach when called upon, mentor members of the church and community, and assist with planning both traditional and innovative approaches to evangelism.
Deacons, Trustees, and Church Auxiliaries
Two lay boards share the work of running the church. The Board of Deacons assists the pastor in pastoral ministry, proclaims the gospel, cares for members, manages the Benevolence and Sick List funds, visits the sick and shut-in, and teaches classes such as New Members Class, Sunday School, and the Constitution and By-Laws Class. The current chairman is Fontaine Harris, with Warren Mitchell serving as vice chairman. Other members of the board include Curtis Burton, Ed Carter, Julius Massenburg, Daniel Scott, Joseph Garris, Cliff Simmons, Faye Williamson, and Clayton Henry Jr. In 2008, Faye Williamson was ordained as the church's first woman deacon under Pastor Allen's leadership.
The Board of Trustees oversees the church's business and property. Current trustees are Ralph Chambers, Yolanda Harris, Charlene Bridges, Walter Keith, Sandra Thomas, and Charles Mitchell. The board handles insurance, deeds, contracts, the church budget, salaries, and facility maintenance, and inspects the physical property at least quarterly. Three trustees also serve on the Finance Committee.
Other auxiliaries support the life of the church week to week: a Deaconess Board prepares the Communion table and assists with Baptism and Dedication Services; a Missionary Circle visits the sick and shut-in and sponsors faith-deepening events; a Pastor Aide Committee supports the pastor and his family; a Communications Committee manages communications and newsletters; a Personnel Committee oversees employee evaluations; and a Decorating Team prepares the sanctuary for the seasons. The Usher Board sets the tone as worshippers arrive, with members trained in First Aid and CPR.
From a Bush Arbor to a Block Sanctuary: 165 Years on the Same Land
Pleasant Union's history runs deep into post-Civil War North Carolina. Oral tradition places the church's organization around 1860, when its earliest members had no building and gathered under a bush arbor just behind what is now the cemetery. In the early 1890s, during the pastorate of the Reverend William Allen, a one-room log church was built on one acre of land donated by Reynolds Allen, a slaveholder who committed the parcel to the enslaved people on his plantation on the condition that they continue working for him after the abolition of slavery. The church took the name Pleasant Union Christian Church. A formal deed followed in December 1894, listing trustees Romulus S. Heart, Gideon Allen, William Evans, Hinton Cooley, Charles Thompson, Merritt Thorpe, Allen Thompson, Robert Bledsoe, and Ransom Allen.
A second, larger wooden plank church was built during the pastorate of Reverend Sellars, who served from 1910 to 1928 and organized the Deacon Board. Members traveled by mule and buggy to attend monthly services, with baptisms held in a creek across the road. In 1913, the church joined the North Carolina Colored Christian Conference, an organization of Black congregations of the Christian Church tradition. As that body grew past 147 churches, it divided; by the late 1920s Pleasant Union was part of the Lincoln Colored Christian Conference, organized in Cary in 1909.
The mid-twentieth century brought continued growth. Under Reverend E. D. Baker (through 1934) the church organized the Missionary Circle and Senior Choir. Reverend E. J. Hooker, who served from 1948 to 1956, oversaw the purchase in 1953 of an additional one-acre tract that became the current location of the sanctuary, with trustees Nathaniel S. Scott, G. Harvey Harris, and William Harris signing the deed for two hundred and fifty dollars. The first church bus was purchased in 1955.
The current block sanctuary was completed in 1974 under Reverend Clarence Dortch, who led the congregation for nineteen years and also organized the Pastor's Aid Committee, Busy Bee Club, Building Fund, and Kitchen Committee. A notable milestone along the way was the first Baccalaureate Ceremony held on June 4, 1972, organized by Coleen Keith Harris in response to African American graduating seniors at Millbrook High School being excluded from the school's baccalaureate service; the event drew students and clergy from across the Triangle and featured remarks from Raleigh City Councilman Clarence E. Lightner, the city's first African American mayor.
In 1982, under Reverend Charles Brooks, Pleasant Union left the Lincoln Conference and joined the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ, briefly taking the name Pleasant Union United Church of Christ. Pastor Allen arrived in 1987 and oversaw a full remodel in 1994, paving the parking lot and adding a second lot, a Senior Fellowship Hall, a Baptism Room, and a computer room for members and the surrounding community. On April 11, 2002, the church withdrew from the United Church of Christ and adopted its current name, Pleasant Union Christian Church of North Raleigh, Inc., continuing as an independent congregation in the Christian Church tradition.
The Homeless Ministry at the Helen Wright Center
Under the heading of Matthew 25:35-38, Pastor Allen established the Homeless Ministry in the mid-1980s. Every third Thursday of each month, Pleasant Union partners with Raleigh Urban Ministries to fund and provide dinner for the residents of the Helen Wright Center for women. A rotating calendar assigns each monthly meal to a different group within the church: Bible Study in January, the Missionary Circle in February, the Brotherhood in March, the Women's Fellowship in April, the Youth in May, the Usher Board in June, the Choirs in July, the Ministers in August, the Pastor's Aid in September, Sunday School in October, the Church at large in November, and the Deacons and Trustees in December.
The church also operates an Emergency Fund that helps elderly and disabled members with medication expenses, and a Bereavement Ministry established in 2014 to walk with families who have lost a loved one. A church bus and van support these ministries and other auxiliaries.
Manna Matters and Bible Teaching
Bible teaching is woven through the week at Pleasant Union. The Wednesday Bible Institute points members to the Bible Broadcasting Network's free online courses, anchored in 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Manna Matters is the church's audio ministry. Sponsored by the pastoral staff and titled from Exodus 16, it releases short monthly audio segments under the heading "Fed by the Word of God." Each episode runs a few minutes and is meant to be encouraging and nourishing, accessible online. Recent sessions have included "What is Manna," "Jesus Cares For You," "Speak Kind Words," and "Remember To Say Thank You." A list of past sessions is kept in the Manna Matters History archive.
The Memorial Garden
Behind the sanctuary sits the Pleasant Union Memorial Garden, a place of quiet remembrance described as "a place of healing and solace." Surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, the garden offers a space for grief, reflection, and shared comfort. Scriptures such as Psalm 147:3, Philippians 1:3, and 2 Thessalonians 3:16 are quoted as anchors. Families may honor a loved one by purchasing engraved pavers; forms are available in the church foyer and Senior Hall, with Deaconess Runeda Massenburg coordinating the project. The Memorial Garden is part of a wider capital plan that also includes future parking and a multi-purpose center.
Youth, Children, and Senior Life
Pleasant Union invests heavily in its young people. The Youth Programs include monthly Youth Sunday School on Sundays at 9 a.m., Children's Church on the first, third, and fourth Sundays, a monthly Youth Bible Study on the first Wednesday night, and a monthly Prayer gathering on second Fridays at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Youth and Young Adults Worship Night at 7 p.m. The year is filled with events such as a College Tour, Good Friday Family Fun Day, Vacation Bible School, a youth revival, a Night of Excellence, an annual youth summer trip, a back-to-school weekend summit, a movie night and bonfire, a fall festival, and a December give-back event. The "Spot Light on Youths Program," started in 2010 by Renee Garris and held each June, highlights the achievements of members from preschool through college and beyond. A Scholarship Fund encourages young people in their academic pursuits.
Senior Programs keep the church's older members connected through quarterly birthday celebrations, a Valentine luncheon, a fellowship lunch at Meadow Restaurant, a senior weekend outing, a senior banquet, a trip to the North Carolina State Fair, a Thanksgiving meal, and a December senior trip. Members are honored in the Golden Age group at age 70.
Faith Projects: Building for the Next Generation
The church's Faith Projects campaign is titled "Moving in Faith" and draws on 2 Corinthians 5:7. Three initiatives are underway. The Family Day fundraiser supports a kitchen expansion and new sanctuary lighting, with contributions of $100 per person. The Memorial Garden project funds engraved pavers and future parking and a multi-purpose center. The Faith Pledge supports Phase 1 parking expansion and Phase 2 multi-purpose center construction, with pledges of $5,000, $7,000, or $10,000 over five years. Contributions can be made by church envelope, online giving, or through team captains, with Deacon Warren Mitchell and Trustee Yolanda Harris serving as contacts.
The Church Covenant and Statement of Faith
Pleasant Union's covenant opens with the confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, followed by baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Members commit to walk together in Christian love, to support the church's worship and ordinances, to contribute cheerfully to the ministry, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel, to maintain family and secret devotion, to religiously educate their children, to seek the salvation of their kindred and acquaintances, and to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks and to combat the abuse of drugs and the spread of pornography.
Members further pledge to watch over one another in brotherly love, remember one another in prayer, aid one another in sickness and distress, and unite with another body of believers when they move away. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 anchors the church's confession: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."
After 165 years, Pleasant Union Christian Church of North Raleigh continues to point to the same foundation its founders proclaimed. As the congregation's own history puts it, "The splendor of Pleasant Union rests in the fact that for 156 years, Pleasant Union has its foundation that 'Christ is All' and its purpose is to win souls for Christ and bring them into His Kingdom."