As Visitation Pastor, my passion is that those who cast their lots with us will be full of the joy Christ brings into the life of the committed and will have a passion to know Christ deeply and to make Him known to the lost world around us. With the indwelling Holy Spirit our church fellowship will be victorious and fruitful. Our Lord said in Matthew 16:18: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" The New NIV. I like better the King James here which reads, "I shall build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it".

Edward L. Mitchell was brought up in the Newport News Friends Church in Virginia where he found the Lord as his Savior. As a teen, he received the fullness of the Holy Spirit and felt the desire to study for ministry. He graduated from Cleveland Bible College (now Malone College) in 1951. He pastored the Oehlhoff Memorial Methodist Church in the west side of Cleveland, Ohio from July 1951 to July 1961. During this same time, he married Ruth Alma Mosher on August 15, 1952, graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in June of 1953, studied at Western Reserve university in masters work in religion in the fall of 1953, entered Western Reserve School of Medicine in 1954 from which he graduated in 1958, completed his internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital in 1959, two years of general surgery residency at the Cleveland V.A. Hospital and concluded the ministry at Oehlhoff Memorial Methodist on June 30, 1961. Three more years of surgical residency were completed at the Dayton, Ohio V.A. Hospital on June 30, 1964, when he and Ruth Alma, with James and David, 7 and 5 years old, went to Humacao, Puerto Rico to serve as medical missionaries and put into practice his surgical training. During two years there, Daniel joined our family on August 13, 1964. In July 1966, the Mitchell family moved to Alliance, Ohio where Dr. Mitchell served for twenty eight years as a general surgeon. Janice joined our family in April 1967. After retiring from an active practice, he served the Bureau of Workers Compensation for ten years. He also operated one month in Kenya, Africa and later one month in Rwanda, Africa with his son, Daniel, who is now in surgical practice in Alliance. Edward has also served as a Trustee for Malone College and a Sunday School teacher for Alliance Friends Church. He was appointed Visitation Pastor for the Alliance Friends Church August, 2008.