Meet Our Pastor

      Presiding Bishop, Dr. Ira J. McCloud
has demonstrated and proven to be among those men of God of the highest distinction. His most notable distinction can be found in his unsurpassed ability and love for the maturing of the believer. Therefore, Bishop McCloud is no stranger to the smallest of beginnings. It is with small beginnings that our Lord Jesus Christ has favored Bishop McCloud to grow, cultivate, and nurture into mighty vessels of God.Bishop Ira J. McCloud in October 11, 1987, was baptized in Jesus’ name and subsequently received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as exemplified in Acts 2:38 in October 16. Through his relentless diligence and service to the Church and his then pastor, Bishop Henry Ross, Bishop McCloud undoubtedly received what was soon to be revealed as the mantle of Evangelism. It is with this mantle that Bishop McCloud founded what was formerly known as Jesus Christ Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in 1991 and for years, along with his wife Mother Pirieta McCloud and 16 children, served God in ministry, miracles, signs, and wonders. After years of this powerful service to the Lord, Bishop McCloud through the favor of God had grown from pastoring one church to ultimately pastoring in nine locations. It is with this God-given wisdom and initiative that Bishop McCloud also decided to continue his education. From 1974-75 he attended Bethune-Cookman College. Then in 2000 he graduated with a B.A. in Religious Study with a focus in Pastoral Ministry from W.L. Bonner College in Columbia, SC. In 2020 he graduated with a Doctorate of Divinity from St. Thomas University.
   In 2009 by the unction of the Holy Ghost, Bishop McCloud was led to be a part of and serve in the ministry of now General Overseer and Apostle Dr. C.A. Cowart and the Church of God the Bibleway Inc. and in 2011 was anointed Presiding Bishop of the Church of God the Bibleway Inc. Under this leadership and anointing Bishop McCloud’s tutelage has grown to establish thriving edifices in the states of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi with present ministries in Tennessee and Texas, all known as the Jesus Christ Churches of God the Bibleway of the Apostolic Faith.
 
   God has afforded Bishop Ira J. McCloud the humility to lead and feed sheep from any walk of life through his biblically sound ministry and tutelage. The favor and power of the Lord Jesus Christ on the life of Bishop McCloud has and continues to be the spiritual catalyst of change and restoration for many and many to come.