Two congregations are clashing head to head over a historic church in Arkansas, and people want the bishop currently occupying the property to get the boot.
The Allen Temple C.M.E Church in Crossett, located about 130 miles away from Little Rock, has been at the center of community conflict since Bishop Earnest Smith took over a few years ago, according to KATV. Now, longtime members Claudelle Smith and Rekandria Leach claim they do not even have access to the inside of the building.
Initially, another pastor was leading their congregation, but he departed from the church in 2019 after leaving the state, the outlet reported.
This resulted in the church shutting down. In 2018, Bishop Smith birthed his ministry at his residence, then moved to a storefront before eventually wanting to expand. Leach claims he approached her mother about a year after the original pastor left to discuss a deal.
“Earnest asked my mother to get with our head stewardess to see if they could rent our church. They was in agreement to let him rent our church. He rented our church. Didn’t have many members,” Leach told KATV. “He was doing it out of a building on Main Street so we let him rent it. He rented it for 200 dollars for a year and after that year went by we agreed and he was supposed to pay 400 dollar rent. He didn’t want to sign another lease agreement or anything.”
Additionally, he allegedly changed the name to Temple of Faith Ministries.
Bishop Smith is accused of squatting at the property, which he denied. According to the report, he said that although he doesn’t have a lease agreement, he has paid the church’s secretary, Faye Pam, $200 a month for an insurance policy for about three years.
“She said we are probably going to give you the building because we’re not going to use the building. She said because I know you. I said OK. I said thank you. We’ve been paying all this money to her and we’ve got proof that we paid the money to her.”
However, Bishop Smith did admit that Pam approached him with a lease agreement for the building, but he says his attorney cautioned him not to sign, adding that he needed a “commercial lease,” per the outlet.
Leach argued that Bishop Smith was trying to steal the church and took advantage of Pam, who wanted to help him form his ministry. Despite the concern, Bishop Smith won’t vacate the property, KATV reported.
“My mother and them, they was very nice to him. They bought him robes. They bought him suits, you know, thinking they was doing the right thing,” Leach said. “But nowadays, my opinion, pastor is into the ministry just for the money. We’re not causing trouble. We just want our church back.”
