MEET THE PASTOR

Pastor Bernard King, Sr. is embracing and experiencing the reason why he was made (God’s under-shepherd).

Pastor Bernard is originally from Griffin, Georgia.  He was raised in a traditional Southern African American (Baptist) Church.  However, he characterizes his initial spirituality as religious and unregenerate as opposed to enjoying a relationship with God and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. In 1980, Pastor Bernard was blessed to be rewarded with a football scholarship to Syracuse University (SU).   It was as a student athlete at SU that he met campus missionaries, Paul and Sandy Jewell of Campus Bible Fellowship, whose powerful witness eventually led him to surrender his life to Jesus Christ in March of 1981.  He immediately began serving alongside the Jewells, ministering to fellow students on campus and in churches within the surrounding community.

After a few years playing professional football in Canada, Pastor Bernard and his wife, Gloria, were married on May 7, 1988 in Woodbury, New Jersey at Bethlehem Baptist Church.   God has given them three sons:  Bernard Jr., Philip and Seth.  He also completed his studies at SU and secured a B.S. in Speech Communications and M.S. in Counseling Education.  He also became the Youth Director at his former church at West Genesee Hills Baptist Church in Camillus, NY.  

The Lord eventually led Pastor Bernard and his family to move South Florida.  The Lord led him to First Baptist of West Hollywood where he served as Dean of Students at their Christian school and ministered to the body at First Baptist as a small group leader and adult Sunday School Teacher.  The Spirit of God led the Pastor and leadership to license Pastor Bernard as a Minister in 1998.  Through his work in Biblical Counseling at First Baptist, the Lord eventually led Pastor Bernard to a position as a ministry assistant in Pastoral Care at Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale (CCFL).  Pastor Bernard continued to serve at CCFL for nearly ten years in a variety of ministries.  In 2005, CCFL ordained Pastor Bernard as a Pastor.

In 2007, after considerable prayer and confirmation from the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures and the Body of Christ Pastor Bernard embraced the call of Senior Pastor.  On January 26, 2008 Pastor Bernard and his wife, Gloria, started a Bible Study in West Delray Beach. That Bible Study was the catalyst for Cornerstone Bible Fellowship (CBF) and on April 13, 2008 CBF held its first official Sunday Morning Service at American Heritage School.  

Both Pastor Bernard and Gloria are both Certified Biblical Counselors for the International Association of Biblical Counselors.