Our_History

Starting From Scratch

Divine Faith Ministries International was founded in July 1990 by Pastor Donald E.
Battle and his wife, Co-Pastor Gwen Battle. With a small group of 10 people, the first
meeting took place in the living room of their home. Shortly thereafter, a small red
brick front building, located at 1522 Mundy’s Mill Road in Jonesboro, GA was secured
to house this group, which was originally named Divine Faith Baptist Church. This
building had the seating capacity of 100. With an old air-conditioner, no Hammond
organ, no choir or band and with pews almost falling apart, Pastor Battle remained
faithful to the call of God on his life. With a vision for more and better, and a
membership of 60 people, the name of the church was changed to Divine Faith
Ministries International – a non-denominational ministry.

With steady growth, and the Lord’s blessing upon the ministry, Pastor Battle saw the
need to expand the sanctuary to a 350-seat auditorium, and the work began –
though not without setbacks, including a wall that was inadvertently removed and not
having sufficient funds to complete construction, the church continued to hold
services even on cold winter days. Pastor Battle remained faithful, and the Lord
added to the church. After some years of leading the flock, Pastor Battle’s growing
desire to see men and women trained in the word of God, led to the birthing of DFM
School of Biblical Studies, which is located in the original church building on Mundy’s
Mill Road. DFMI’s Outreach ministry, serving hundreds of families each year, also
operates out of this building.

“…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

A Brief History…Our Story

A Step of Faith

From its inception, God’s hand was upon this ministry. Weekly attendance continued
to grow as members and friends shared the excitement of what God was doing with
their family, friends and co-workers. The church began to prosper, and with an
increasing membership of over 2000, supernatural growth was inevitable for DFMI.
Pastor Battle kept moving forward with the vision and set out to build a larger facility.
In August 2003, the 9800 Tara Blvd facility - with a seating capacity of 1500 - was
completed and we crossed-over, giving praise and thanksgiving to God for what He
had done! Not wasting any time, the vision to establish a Christian school was
realized when DFMI Christian Academy opened its doors also in August 2003,
offering classes from Kindergarten to 5th Grade. Divine Faith Day Care was also
established to serve our members and the community at large. We have seen
tremendous growth in our Academy and Day Care and have advanced to the 8th
Grade, with our goal being to go all the way to the 12th Grade. Our Academy is now
housed in separate buildings on the premises. Our Outreach Ministry, Teens &
Young Adults, Prison Ministry and Family Intervention Ministry are only a few of the
numerous ministries actively in place at DFMI.

With a vision and passion to bring real hope to real people in a real world, Pastor
Battle kept moving forward. In 2004, Pastor Battle heard the word from the Lord to
“Go North” and in August 2005, Divine Faith Ministries International opened its doors
for the launch of our second campus at 4725 River Green Parkway in Duluth, GA.
This new facility is now the home of a state-of-the-art television and recording studio
where Soaring With Eagles Television Broadcast reaches thousands of homes on a
weekly basis. Stir-It-Up TV hosted by Pastor Battle’s daughter, TaVondria (Vonnie
B), is also recorded here and airs on Atlanta’s TV 57. Not to mention that various
recording artists and ministries have utilized our studio for their recording needs -
thanks to the giving nature of our Pastor.

From humble beginnings, with the blessings of God and the commitment and
dedication of his dear wife, Gwen, and many others, Pastor Battle has witnessed
DFMI become a fast-growing multi-cultural ministry of 8,000 plus members, now
occupying three campuses, DFMI South, DFMI North and DFMI School of Biblical
Studies – South Campus. To God be the glory!

While appreciating our history and all that God has done, DFMI wants more than a
past. For that reason, we are currently engaged in the expansion of our south
campus, to include the addition of a 600-seat balcony to accommodate the growing
needs of our ministry, as well as working toward the final stage of plans to build our
Family Life Mega Center. The vision is yet before us to build a 8000-seat auditorium.
As we continue to set our sights on taking nations for Jesus Christ, our vision extends
to far away places such as Zambia, Africa. Also, with a vision for training tomorrow’s
leaders today, Pastor Battle most recently launched the Gideon 300 Faith
Scholarship – sponsoring 300 hundred 18-25 year old students to one year tuition
free at DFMI School of Biblical Studies, as we move toward becoming Faith University.

As our Pastors, together with the people of this church, continue the outstanding
work begun in 1990, we look to the past for inspiration, but more so we enter the
future trusting in God and building upon the foundation which has been laid by His
faithful servants since DFMI as founded in 1990. There is truly no stopping us now
– we are on the move…to another dimension in the awesome work we have
been assigned to accomplish in the Kingdom of God!