By Izetta Sims | Marking his 35th anniversary as pastor, Hopewell Baptist Church of Norcross will honor Bishop Williams Sheals at a “black and gold” black-tie banquet on May 15 at the Gwinnett Arena Grand Ballroom. More than 400 people are expected for the fete. Tickets are $100.
It was a partly cloudy and cool Easter Sunday morning on April 6, 1980, when Hopewell Missionary Baptist welcomed Bill Sheals as its new pastor. The church, which dates back to 1865, at that time had about 200 members. After the morning service, as the children presented speeches, the sound system malfunctioned. Pastor Sheals, then working with an Atlanta housing agency, brought from his car a personal sound system, so that the parents could hear the children. From that moment on, he had the title “Papa Sheals,” by which many church members still address him.
Sheals
Under his leadership, Hopewell grew from a small rural church to a suburban mega church with a membership of over 10,000. In 1990, Bishop Sheals had a great vision of transforming a 32 acre junkyard into a complex where God is glorified. This great vision began to manifest itself in 1992. Today this community is known as the “City of Hope,” in a campus with not only a 2,500 seat sanctuary with majestic spire, but housing a Child Development Center, Youth Center, Senior Citizen Center, Adult Fitness Center, and a commercial mall. Also on campus is a Gwinnett County Charter School, North Metro Academy of Performing Arts for grades K4-12 and an accredited Bible College.
Bishop Sheals, a native of Lakeland, Fla., is an effective teacher of ministers, evident in the 179 sons and daughters that he’s trained for the ministry. A total of 31 are now pastors of their own congregations.
He is also very well respected nationally and internationally in both the Christian and non-Christian communities. In April 2007, he was consecrated Bishop and Overseer for The Light House Ministries. Founded in 2006, The Light House Ministries is a non-profit ministry established to mentor, train and equip people for the pastoral ministry. The Light House Ministries is committed to preparing people “with Biblical precepts in church leadership and congregational nurturing.”
Bishop Sheals has written seven inspirational books and has received numerous awards and honors. They include the Presidential Special Citizens Award as founding director of Ministers Against Drugs in 1989, founding president of the North Metro 100 Black Men in 1993, and as recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award in 1999. Most recently, Bishop Sheals received the Gwinnett County NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the founder and CEO of 500 Men of Valor LLC and the international spokesmen for the Global Peace Movement.
Bishop Sheals’ most recent accomplishment came from an independent film Sunday Morning Rapture, which he produced, wrote, and directed through his production company, END TOUCH MOVIE, LLC. The vision given to him was to win 100,000 souls for Christ through this movie.
Bishop Sheals has a son, Ryan, a real estate broker in Indianapolis, Ind., and a daughter, Ari, now studying for a master’s degree in marketing and communications at the University of Southern California.
Entertainment for the Black and Gold banquet will be by George Wallace, a Gospel comedian; Antonio Allen, a Gospel jazz musician with the saxophone; and by Ken Ford, a jazz musician with the violin.
- For tickets to the ball, call Hopewell at 770 448 5475.
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