The United House of Prayer For All People

PRESS RELEASE

(October 14, 2023) On October 13, The United House of Prayer for All People gained a new Bishop, the Honorable A. D. Cunningham, as spiritual advisor of 137 congregations nationwide, chief executive officer, and sole trustee of all church holdings. Bishop Cunningham was elected overwhelmingly by a special called session of the General Assembly of The United House of Prayer convened at the church’s national headquarters location, called “God’s White House,” in Washington, DC. He was formally installed and held his first service as Bishop on that same evening.

Bishop Cunningham succeeds the late - Bishop C. M. Bailey, who selected the then - Apostle A. D. Cunningham to serve as the Organization’s senior minister. In that position, he became the acting chief executive officer after the August 11, 2023 passing of Bishop Bailey—ensuring the House of Prayer’s bustling membership and various ongoing programs and efforts were uninterrupted and allowed to thrive even during the leadership transition. Additionally, then – Senior Minister Cunningham also oversaw the nationwide viewings of Bishop Bailey as well as the funeral services, reconvened the Organization’s 97th Annual Holy Convocation in Charlotte, North Carolina, and worked with the highest ecclesiastical body of the church, the General Council, to perform the annual financial audit of church congregations located on the east coast and the southern region.

Bishop Cunningham was previously pastor of three congregations of the United House of Prayer: H Street (Washington, DC, starting in 1986), Greensboro Motherhouse (Greensboro, NC, starting in 2003), and “God’s White House” (Washington, DC, starting in 2010). While pastoring in Greensboro and most recently in Washington, respectively, he held supervisory
responsibilities for all congregations in his region. Additionally, Bishop Cunningham was a member of the General Council of the church, holding various positions of responsibility, including the position of head judge. He was a member of the church’s national RETURN Committee whose focus was primarily on the youth, a member of the 2022 constitutional review committee, and since 2006 he held the position of secretary of the church’s General Assembly. 

Bishop Cunningham, renowned as a spellbinding preacher and teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is a Brooklyn, NY native, and served as a deacon during his youth in Boston, MA under his grandfather, the late - Apostle Hankerson. He answered the call of the late - Bishop W. McCollough to be ordained an elder in early 1981 and grew in the ministry under his father-in-law the late Apostle D. L. Raycrow, pastor of the Salisbury, MD congregation. He has been married for 41 years to the new First Lady of the United House of Prayer, Mrs. Deborah Cunningham. Bishop and Mrs. Cunningham are parents of a son, Malachi, who along with his wife—Donyca—nurture Bishop Cunningham’s two grandchildren.

-END-

Interviews Available upon Request
The United House of Prayer for All People is a Christian organization founded in 1919 by the late Bishop C.M. “Sweet Daddy” Grace and built upon biblical traditions. The organization, headquartered in Washington, DC, has 137 congregations in nearly 30 different states and the District of Columbia with a large and diverse membership. Bishop A. D. Cunningham is only the fifth leader of The United House of Prayer in its over 100-year history.