Bishop James A. Lewis

James Arthur Lewis was born June 17, 1936 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1942.  He joined the United States Air Force in 1954 and received an honorable discharge in 1957 with the rank of airman second class.

He accepted Christ as his personal saviour in November 1959 and was filled with the Holy Spirit shortly thereafter. He acknowledged his call to the ministry on January 12, 1960 and was ordained as an Elder in the Church of God in Christ June 1963. He matriculated at Life Bible College where he attended from 1973 to 1976. The Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree was conferred upon him by the Southern California School of Ministry in May 1999.

Pastor Lewis married the former Barbara Ann McCoo of Los Angeles on June 9, 1962. They have two sons, both ordained elders of the Church of God in Christ; Elder James A. Lewis Jr. and Superintendent Jeffrey M.  Lewis (wife Floetta) – adult grandchildren Shannon and Jeffrey Jr. His family is the joy of his life.

He attributes his ministry development to his mentor/pastor Bishop L.C. Page at the Greater Page Temple COGIC where he ascended step by step to the position of Assistant Pastor. God divinely led him into the pastoral ministry in 1970. He held the first organizational meeting of the New Antioch Church of God in Christ in his home with his wife and five other adults. Shortly after, he rented a small storefront building located on Manchester Avenue in Los Angeles. Pastor Lewis established a building fund using the slogan, “We Came in, to Get Out.” The small congregation purchased a large building originally a warehouse at the present location of 7826 South Vermont Avenue in 1973. They completely renovated the building adding a beautiful sanctuary, dining room, state of the art commercial kitchen, choir room and offices. His response to the Los Angeles riot and community unrest in 1992 was to establish a Community Training Center at New Antioch with computer training classes, job interview skills, and literacy development all conducted by professional volunteers from the congregation.  An additional wing was erected and attached to the existing structure which houses additional classrooms and offices.  During his pastoral tenure the J.A. Lewis Scholarship Fund was created and continues to provide financial assistance to students pursuing their education. The Outreach Department was organized in 1980 and continues to thrive: door to door ministry, juvenile hall visitation, drug rehabilitation center ministry visitation, convalescent home ministry, food giveaway in the park, hospital visitation and sick and shut-in ministry.

Bishop Lewis’ past ecclesiastical involvements are vast and numerous: on the National level he served as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Assembly and was a member of the Screening Committee; on the Jurisdictional level he was the Senior Administrative Assistant; an Administrative Assistant;  Executive Secretary ; Coordinator of Institute sessions; chairman of the Convocation Program Committee; member Jurisdictional Executive Board, organizing coordinator of the Jurisdictional Men’s Gathering; Treasurer Jurisdictional Tithing Fund; Secretary of UJAC (United Jurisdictional Auxiliaries Convention); Regional Youth President Central Region. He served during the tenures of Jurisdictional Prelates- Bishop J. A. Blake, Bishop C. E. Blake (now Presiding Bishop) and currently Bishop Joe L. Ealy.

He was the founding Superintendent of the New Antioch District which consists of six churches and now serves as the Advisor to the District Superintendent (Superintendent Jeffrey M. Lewis).

After thirty-six years Bishop Lewis retired as senior pastor of the New Antioch Church in January 2006. He passed the baton to his youngest son Elder Jeffrey M. Lewis. As the Founder/Senior Pastor Emeritus he is the Advisor to the pastor and a member of the Board of Directors.

He was consecrated as an Auxiliary Bishop at the Holy Convocation November 2014.

Bishop Lewis was a member of the Urban League and the NAACP and received numerous awards and certificates of recognition from multiple city, county and state entities for his commitment to the church motto “Serving the Community through Ministry” in South Los Angeles.

Bishop Lewis was an anointed gospel preacher, a prolific soul winner with a special gift of healing ministry. He was known as a loyal, caring and unselfish individual in the work of the Lord and greatly impacted the character and influenced the ministry skills of countless men and women.

He did not retire from preaching, teaching and reaching the lost for Jesus Christ but went from labor to reward on September 23, 2019.