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Pastor’s
and Church's History
Bishop
Fred
C. Dampier was born to Bill Dampier and Willie
Mae Dampier on December 24th, 1932.
As a child, he was born into the Emmanuel
family. His father answered the call to
salvation in the late twenties to early
thirties. During that time, church was being
held in homes. It wasn’t until 1938 under the
leadership of Pastor Elder W. M. Mitchell,
that Preacher Bill Dampier began building a
wooden sanctuary for the service of the
community and Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist
Church Apostolic Faith of Safety Harbor began.
The lumber for the sanctuary was purchased
from Cunningham’s Lumberyard in Safety Harbor.
At that time Bishop Fred C. Dampier was
approximately five to six years of age and he
assisted his dad by passing nails and other
building materials such as he was able to do.
In 1944, the sanctuary was again rebuilt
during the Second World War by Preacher Bill
Dampier under the leadership of Elder Sarah
Ash. Building blocks at that time were five
cents per block. Fred was now thirteen years
of age and was able to help by laying blocks
and applying mud from the foundation up. His
father continued in the service of the lord
for approximately twelve years before
backsliding. His mother, however, continued
her service to the lord until her last days
when the lord called her home in January of
1975.
It was during the administration of Elder
Sarah Ash as Pastor from 1944 to somewhere in
the mid 1950’s, that Fred answered the call to
salvation, and he received the Holy Spirit in
1953. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to
serve as a deacon for the Emmanuel Tabernacle
church. He served in this position from 1954
to 1966 under Elder Sarah Ash. His first
sermon preached was “The Battle Is Not Yours
It’s the Lord’s”. Somewhere in the mid 50’s
Elder Ash relinquished the Pastors position to
Elder Thomas Carey who held the position for
approximately fifteen to twenty years. Elder
Fred served as Assistant Pastor to Pastor
Carey from 1966 to 1974. In 1974, Elder Carey
relinquished the Pastors position to Elder
Fred C. Dampier.
Under his leadership a building fund was
started with the support of his now deceased
wife Minister Maudine Dampier along with the
support of the members of Emmanuel in Safety
Harbor. It was after the death of Pastor
Fred’s mother, the first week in January of
1975, that he began digging the foundation for
the new location of Emmanuel Church in Safety
Harbor. The foundation was poured shortly
after and Pastor Fred began to lay the blocks
by himself. The many weeks to follow would be
trying times. As Pastor Fred continued to work
on the church, the Lord began to move in a
mighty way. The Lord began to provide the help
that was needed to build the House of the
Lord. The Lord sent C.J. Rump by to help lay
the blocks and he lay blocks all the way to
the lentil. He also had help from his eldest
son, Demitri Dampier, who worked by his side
until the completion of the church in April of
1976.
On Palm Sunday in 1976 the new sanctuary for
Emmanuel Tabernacle was dedicated under Bishop
O. J. Gentry. After the death of Bishop O. J.
Gentry in 1976, Bishop Thomas Carey was then
appointed Presiding Bishop. Elder Fred served
under Bishop Carey for a period of one year,
and upon the passing of Bishop Carey, he
continued his service under Bishop H. C.
Clark.
Elder Dampier was appointed as a General Field
Elder by Bishop H. C. Clark in 1979. He
continued his service to God and once again
received a new appointment to serve on the
Board of Bishops in 1982 under the leadership
of Bishop H. C. Clark. He served as Pastor
and on the Board of Bishops from 1982 to 2006.
In March of 2006, due to Bishop Clark being
seriously ill, he was appointed to the
position of Interim Bishop over the
organization. Bishop H. C. Clark went home to
be with the Lord in June of 2006 and Fred C.
Dampier was Elected as the Presiding Bishop of
the Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church
Apostolic Faith Organization.
His second wife and our first lady, Sister
Jesse Dampier, has been at his side since
March 31st of 2000 as a pastor’s wife and now
as the wife of the presiding Bishop, lending
continued support in every way. She visits
the sick and shut in at their residences and
in nursing homes. She also ensures the church
is maintained in every way. God’s calling in
her life has made her a prominent figure in
our local church and our organization. |
