Presiding Elder
The Rev. Dr. Michael Stephen Bell
Rev. Dr. Michael S. Bell was born in Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. He is a dynamic preacher and teacher of the word and has been involved in the ministry for 37 years of which 35 years as pastor. He has successfully pastored several churches in Jamaica and USA. He graduated from St. Ann Bay High School and earned his undergrad in Religious Studies at Jamaica Open Bible Institute, Diploma in Business Management from the Institute of Management and Production, MA and DRE from the Evangelical Bible Seminary. He presently serves as the Presiding Elder of the Wilson District, Cape Fear Conference A.M.E. Zion Church. After successfully pastoring St. John A.M.E. Zion from 2004-2015 he was elevated to the position of Presiding Elder in October 2015. Dr. Bell also serves as the Executive Director of the St. John CDC, Inc. He is the author of “Constant Contact” “Winning Them and Keeping Them” and “Bullies, Buddies and Bangers”. In 2005 he founded S.A.Y. Save-A-Youth which offers After School, Summer Camp and Vocation Programs to over 350 at risk youth at two sites. The former Adams Learning Center now Save A Youth Center and White Oak Enrichment in White Oak. Dr. Bell also led the St. John non-profit in developing the Historical Terminal Drug Store that now host an independent Drugstore, Restaurant, Flower Shop, Our Reach Center and Future Studio Apartments on the second floor.
Rev. Bell came to Wilson with a passion to help hurting families find hope. The vision for the Wilson Neighborhood Renaissance Project is to revitalize the community, by creating an economic and social engine to bring back the optimism and beauty to the neighborhood. He serves on several local and denominational boards and is married to Veronica A. Bell. They both have one daughter, a son and four grandchildren. His motto is “I don’t need things to enjoy life I need life to enjoy things.”