OUR HISTORY

Daniel Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church was organized in Phoenix, Illinois on July 17, 1938 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Grayson by Rev. Thomas L. Daniel.  Services were held in the Grayson's home for about five weeks until the Community Club House was secured. The late Dr. Silas Samuels, who was then our Presiding Elder, held the first Quarterly Conference.  With the help of God, our membership increased and allowed the opportunity to purchase a building at 15110 9th Avenue.

In July 1954, Rev. Daniel was assigned to pastor St. John A.M.E. Zion Church in Hammond, Indiana.  Rev. Ernest Benford

was sent to pastor the people at Daniel Chapel. Rev. Benford worked hard during his short tenure, for one year later, in

October 1955 Rev. Benford was called home to be with the Lord.

At that time, Bishop W.J. Walls appointed Rev. Henry Miller the charge as pastor to the people at Daniel Chapel.  Rev. Miller was a good, young minister with progressive ideas. The membership was willing to work, so Rev. Miller set forth with plans

to move from 9th Avenue to the present location.  Groundbreaking ceremonies were held here at 15250 3rd Avenue on May 1, 1963. Rev. Miller, having led the congregation in the building of this new facility, it's administrative wing, and its parsonage had yet another dream.  He witnessed and shared the concerns of those who were unable, due to physical handicaps, to attend service or transverse the steep and sometimes dangerous steps to the sanctuary. His dream was to create a clean, safe and spacious environment that would accommodate the needs of the handicapped while adding convenience, beauty and easy access to the sanctuary & fellowship hall. In 1988, the officers and members set out to change the facade of the church and to provide, to all who would come, a place for comfortable worship.  The plans were laid, the sketches were complete, and the design was approved.  One year later, in 1989, the work was completed. In 1990, Rev. Miller decided to retire from being a full-time pastor. 

In February 1991 Bishop Clinton R. Coleman appointed Rev. Harry Spigner to the pastorate of Daniel Chapel.  Rev. Spigner went to work immediately after meeting with the officers to eliminate the church mortgage.  He determined that with a mortgage balance of $120,000 and annual interest of over $15,000, something needed to be done. He challenged the Building Fund Committee, the officers and church family to retire the mortgage in 18 months, by October 1992. After only 14 months of

work, giving and sacrifice by the members, in June 1992 enough funds were available to effectively eliminate the mortgage.

It was under Rev. Spigner's leadership that the Antioch addition was established for the church building, adding more space for teaching opportunities.  The congregation continued to grow in spirit and ministry as he introduced an Annual Evangelistic Street Crusade held outside on the corner of 153rd & 8th Avenue, where many souls came to know Christ through effective witnessing.

In October 2005, Bishop Milton Williams appointed Rev. Spigner to pastor Jones Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion Church in Indianapolis, IN.  It was then that Bishop Williams appointed Rev. Derrick Simmons to pastor the people at Daniel Chapel. Pastor Simmons immediately went to work on the spiritual as well as the physical makeup of the church.  Under Pastor Simmons leadership, physically, the sound system was improved, new pew cushions were installed, a new roof was installed over the entire building, a new boiler system, remodeled office space, new kitchen appliances and washroom and plumbing improvements were made. Spiritually, the class leader system was revamped; the prayer ministry was revitalized, an 8am casual worship service was implemented, along with the traditional 11am worship service.  Church School thrived, with hot breakfasts being served every Sunday. In the spring of 2019, at a monthly class leader meeting, Dr. Simmons was enlightened to begin a 40-day prayer emphasis concentrating on a vision for change in Daniel Chapel.  A call-in line was established so that prayers could go forth at 6am as well as 6:15pm on Monday – Friday.  Once the 40-day challenge ended, the membership’s desire was to continue the prayer calls because they had felt and witnessed God’s blessings as a result of the continual prayers.  Those prayer calls continue to this day and the power of God is still shining through. Healing took place; financial blessings were realized; lost souls came to Christ. In 2020, we experienced the pandemic of COVID-19 which caused the closing of in-person services.   We developed an online ministry which included services on FaceBook, YouTube, Zoom and our website that allowed us to continue ministry for everyone. During this season: the church became debt free; the kitchen, the lower-level classroom and the Sacristy were all remodeled; air purifiers were purchased for cleaning on a weekly basis; the roof was repaired; monitors were installed inside the sanctuary; video cameras were placed around the building for safety measures; a new air conditioner unit was installed and the parking lot was re-paved, all being paid in full. Spiritually, Bible study increased through our online ministry; and many souls were saved in this season.  Through it all, our worship services, Sunday School and Bible Studies never stopped.

In January 2025, Pastor Simmons was appointed by Bishop Daran H. Mitchell to not only serve as the Presiding Elder of the Chicago District, but also to pastor the people at St. Mark AME Zion Church in East Chicago, Indiana. We, at Daniel Chapel, were blessed with the appointment of Rev. Demond Hairston as our pastor. Pastor Hairston has challenged us to seek out the needed ministries in our community, elevating our sights of looking out for the needs of others while continuing to increase our study of the Word, through examining the preached Word more intensely during Bible study periods. Our media ministry is growing to higher levels as we enter areas of social media from a better understanding due to his leadership. The worship experiences are at an all-time high and the congregation is growing with more young adults and their families joining the Daniel Chapel family.

Today, as we worship, we can truly say that God has blessed us.  Rev. Daniel planted, Rev. Benford, Rev. Miller, Dr. Spigner, Dr. Simmons and Rev. Hairston have all watered - but it has been God that has given the increase. We thank God for sending us true servants to lead us along this journey. The entire congregation of Daniel Chapel continues to give praise and thanks to God for all the things that He has done for the past 87 years! Glory to His name!!!