Honoring a Legacy: Celebrating 76 Years of Life and 41 Years of Pastoral Ministry

This Sunday, the whole world, including Fort Wayne, Indiana, will celebrate and honor my grandfather, Dr. Oscar J. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood, as he turns 76 and marks 41 years of faithful pastoring at Cathedral of Praise Int, Destiny Dome Embassy located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

As the world celebrates this great man of GOD, we must also take the opportunity to thank GOD for the remarkable impact he has made during his 76 years from being born in Alabama, raised in Indiana, to becoming a global statesman to the nations. Forty-one of those years have been devoted to shepherding GOD’S flock, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, and faithfully teaching GOD'S Word.

It is an honor to share this special day with the world. No one is more deserving of being celebrated than my grandfather, a man who has laid down his life so that GOD’S will could be done and so that people all over the world could have hope, courage to face tomorrow, and the understanding that there is more to life than what they may have been living.

Being a pastor is not easy, but staying the course for 41 years is a commitment few can carry. It’s a divine calling, and my grandpa has worn it with grace, strength, and excellence. 41 years of a unique anointing and a conduit of GOD’S presence that elevates with each encounter. 41 years of people encountering GOD’S unconditional love through a man of GOD. The anointing that rests on Dr. Oscar J. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood and his ministry has healed the brokenhearted, opened blinded eyes, and restored what was once damaged.

While we celebrate 41 years of pastoral ministry, we also recognize the incredible impact he has made as a history-maker. As the Father of Possibleology® and Possibility Education Awareness, Dr. Oscar J. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood has spent his life from the pulpit as a preacher to the classroom as an educator, and in every office he has walks in, both spiritually and physically, teaching that “All things are possible if you believe” (Mark 9:23).

His life exemplifies Mark 9:23. From receiving a prestigious award from President Joe Biden to making history as Indiana's first African American Teacher of the Year in 1977 (the same year he was nominated for National Teacher of the Year), his achievements speak volumes. He was chosen to write the curriculum for the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Magnet School program. In 1982, he became principal of Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School and, within two years, used his innovative “Underwood Model” to reverse the school’s challenges, helping students realize that they matter and can learn without limitations.

In 1991, he founded the first African American Christian College Prep High School in the state of Indiana. Not forgetting adults, he opened a Bible college in 1999. Along the way, he addressed the United States Congressional Committee on Small Businesses (1998), was named Indiana Businessman of the Year (1999), and received the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award (2018). His book Burden of Hope was featured at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany (2016). In 2022, he had the honor of introducing former Vice President Mike Pence at the Allen County GOP Reagan Bean Dinner.

Dr. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood’s reach and impact have extended far beyond the United States, to name a few, the Bahamas, Trinidad, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the U.K., China, Haiti, Canada, and around the world. His accolades and achievements reflect a life dedicated to spreading hope globally. As Dr. Myles Munroe, my grandfather's spiritual father, once said, “The value of life is not lived by duration, but by donation,” a truth my grandfather’s life embodies. A life of giving, so others can live, whether that’s in giving knowledge so people can grow, giving a helping hand, or speaking a prophetic word to heal people, laying his hands on the sick, or even causing those who couldn't walk, walk. In addition to paying rent for people so they and their kids could have a place to live, supporting international missions by sending donations, and so much more, that not only history has recorded, but heaven itself. 

In 76 years of life and 41 years of pastorship, Dr. Oscar J. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood has helped, vindicated, and transformed countless lives. He has pioneered where no one else had gone before, proving that just because something has never been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done, because with GOD, all things are possible. GOD has given humanity dunamis power to fulfill and be all that GOD has called them to be, and we witness that truth in my grandfather’s life daily.

HAPPY 76TH BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATULATIONS ON 41 YEARS OF FAITHFUL PASTORAL LEADERSHIP!

Thank you for staying the course so that the Kingdom of GOD could be advanced and lives could be changed by the knowledge and awareness of GOD'S unconditional love, including me, your granddaughter.