Bishop Ezra Nehemiah Williams is the Founder and General
Superintendent of Urban
& Global Mission Alliance, Inc., (UGMA) and
Pastor Emeritus of Bethel Gospel Assembly, where he
faithfully served from February 1966 to February 2000
as the Senior Pastor. He was born and raised in New
York. He is married to Lucille Dorothea, his wife of
48 years. They have one son, Rev. Mark L. Williams,
two daughters, Deborah L. Williams and Allison E. LeGere
and seven grandchildren.
Bishop Williams is a graduate of Manhattan Bible Institute
of New York City. His thirty-four years in ministry
has fathered many spiritual sons and daughters, one
of which is, Rev. Carlton T. Brown, who was installed
as the Senior Pastor after Bishop Williams transferred
his mantle as Pastor in December 1999. This transition
provided the perfect opportunity for Bishop Williams
to devote more of his attention to the expansion of
UGMA (founded in 1995).
Under Bishop Williams’ leadership, Bethel Gospel
Assembly grew and began to impact on the Harlem community.
In response to God’s leading, the ministry expanded
to address the growing needs of the community through
the establishment of Beth-Hark Christian Counseling
Center, a resident Discipleship Program, Soul
Release Prison Ministry and the Christ Community
Youth Center. Besides an active urban ministry in the
Harlem community, Bethel Gospel Assembly is actively
involved in such countries as Zambia, India, Nigeria,
Israel, Aruba Cameroon, Albania, St. Vincent and South
Africa.
As the General Superintendent of UGMA, Bishop understood
the potential that existed when the body of Christ unified
under a common banner for a common cause. UGMA is built
upon the directives of God’s call to “Go into
all the world and make disciples of all people groups”.
UGMA is a not-for-profit Christian organization formed
out of a burden to foster growth in the Christian faith
and to exemplify the unity of God through an Alliance
of churches committed to the spreading of the Gospel
both in local urban centers and the world. UGMA’s
objective is to aggressively engage in the discipling
of men and women in fulfilling the scriptural mandate
of Matthew 28:18-20.
Bishop Williams was the former National President of
the United Pentecostal Council of The Assemblies of
God (UPCAG) from 1969 through 1981. It was during this
tenure that Bishop Williams was consecrated to the Bishopric.
Under his administration at UPCAG, he brought many innovative
changes to the organization. He is a former member of
the Board of Directors of Teen
Challenge, and of Vehicle’s, Inc. He has fostered
numerous ecclesiastical connections within the United
States and abroad.
Engraved on the Fifth Avenue entrance of Bethel Gospel
Assembly is “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve”
a motto engraved 43 years ago that describes the ministry
of Bishop Ezra N. Williams.
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