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About the MEC
A one-stop home for pastors’ flourishing
The Ministerial Excellence Center gathers the resources and tools that help PCAFI pastors reach new levels of ministry effectiveness and abundant life.
The Ministerial Excellence Center
In an era when researchers are heralding the decline of the Church in the United States, the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith International (PCAFI) is committed to prayerfully and innovatively advancing God’s Kingdom for maximum impact. The Ministerial Excellence Center (MEC) is part of that commitment: to support the wholistic flourishing of our pastors for personal and ministerial excellence.
Since our founding in 1957, local pastors have been the lifeblood of the organization, especially given our unique denominational polity. Today, more than 850 lead pastors and their congregations make up an ever-growing, increasingly international body.
Our planning research showed that pandemic-era pastoral ministry — especially bi-vocational ministry — poses real threats to the financial, physical, mental, and relational health of pastors and their families. Pastors’ personal finances often fund church operations, with a direct effect on their home life.
What we offer
We listened carefully to our largely bi-vocational pastors about the economic challenges they face. In response, the MEC is building access to vetted, complimentary professional services — executive coaches, lawyers, accountants, financial planners, and therapists — and bringing that expertise to the Bishop Board Meeting, the L.E.A.D. Conference, and the International Holy Convocation.
Together with opportunities from the Lilly Endowment grantee community, these services form a first-class, culturally contextualized ecosystem of support.
“We want to provide pastors with a one-stop shop for the resources and tools that can propel them to higher levels of ministry effectiveness and abundant life.”
Ministerial Excellence Fund
How the Fund works
The Ministerial Excellence Fund (MEF) was awarded to the PCAFI in 2022 through Lilly Endowment’s National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders.
It exists to enable the financial and personal flourishing of pastors and their families. The PCAFI Executive Office administers and evaluates the Fund. Pastors who receive grant funds also receive financial literacy training so they can steward the funds well, and eligible churches learn about the economic challenges pastors face through Lilly Endowment grantee partners.
The Fund supports
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Debt relief when educational, consumer, or medical debt creates hardship
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Need-based scholarships for pastors’ children at accredited colleges
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Grants for advanced theological study at ATS-accredited seminaries
Administration & staff
The people behind the MEC
Bishop Lambert W. Gates, Sr.
Presiding Bishop
Presiding bishop of the PCAFI since 2016 and senior pastor of the multi-campus Kingdom Apostolic Ministries in Michigan, Indiana, and Georgia.
Bishop James Edwell
Executive Director
Director of the PCAFI Office of Denomination, Church, and Pastoral Growth and senior pastor of New Life Family Worship Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Elder Aaron Porter, Sr.
Program Director
Develops and implements MEC program strategy and oversees budgets to ensure funds are used effectively and in compliance.
Pastor Terrance Bridges, Sr.
Program Strategist
Develops and implements strategies for the MEC and identifies ways to expand the program’s reach.
Elder Ray Simpson, M.Div.
Program Director, PTI28
Leads strategy for the Preaching Transformative Initiative ’28 and looks for ways to foster growth in our churches.
Elder Terrence Brown
Program Administrator
Supports the program director in managing PTI28 programs and events, from conception to completion.
Sister Tara Behanan
Program Administrator
Works with the executive director of finance to ensure adherence to Lilly Endowment administrative and recordkeeping guidelines.