He's one of the most vocal religious leaders out there, and he does not shy away from any issue he considers important, but after decades in the pulpit, Bishop Simeon Hall, head pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church is heading into retirement. He officially retires at the end of November.
Although he is looking forward to this new chapter in his life after 30 years of pastoral work, Bishop Hall still intends to be active in evangelistic work and promises to make himself available to his church as a consultant and guide. His retirement will free him up to do more outreach work and go into communities to preach and teach.
"I will not be involved in everyday aspects of the running of the chuch anymore, but I will be here to be of any assistance that I can be. My evangelistic mission, which I took up 45 years ago, will still continue. I will not stop preaching. My retirement will allow me to do more evangelistic work and mission trips. This will be a marvelous thing," said Bishop Hall.
For the 64-year-old Hall, unlike many ministers who may have had an early calling to the pastoral field or were raised in an environment that guided them into an easy transition to becoming religious leaders, his path to the pulpit was one of trial and error.
"It was not a straight-shot road I took. Many people may not know that I was once a construction worker for many years before I became a minister. I had left school since the sixth grade so I could get a job and make money. It wasn't to help support the family as it was to be like the other guys who hung out in my neighborhood. So for five years or so I went from job to job - doing construction, being a gas station attendant and once even being a night watchman."
That kind of life wasn't what he had expected. He said he eventually got restless with everything. And that it was by the grace of God and the right guidance that five years after he began pursuit of material wealth that Hall was led to realize his purpose in life.
The road to being the vocal minister Bahamians are familiar with he said started when he was 16 years old and his mother, Nola Musgrove, all but forced her eldest son to attend an evening service at Central Gospel Chapel on Dowdeswell Street. He attended the service unwillingly, but that night, there was something about what he heard and felt that spoke to his heart. That night, he made a confession of faith that changed his life forever.
"I just made a turnaround in my life like never before. I knew I had to get myself together because what I was going through wasn't fulfilling me. I started doing night classes at Aquinas College to catch up with the schooling I had given up. There was a Catholic nun who took interest in me and also made it her mission to push me to do better. I did that for two years and in the meantime, I started to surround myself with positive individuals who really inspired me to be who I am today."
Some of his mentors included the late Pastor A.S. Colebrooke of St. Paul's Baptist Church Bias Street; Pastor R.E. Cooper of Mission Baptist on Hay Street and the late Pastor H.W. Brown of Bethel Baptist Church.
He says he enjoyed spending time with the ministers so-much-so that he was willing to carry their bags, clean their shoes and just accompany them whenever he could because he appreciated what they were about. Although he spent a lot of time with them, he said it wasn't until he was invited on a trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to attend a Baptist conference with Pastor Colebrooke that he fully understood that the pulpit was the path for him.
"It was around this time that I really realized that association truly did breed assimilation and it did wonders for me. I remember I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in South America with [Pastor] Colebrooke who had invited me to attend a conference with him. It was an unforgettable time. While we were on the trip he said something to me that changed my life. He said that the Lord called me to be a preacher. I never heard that said to me before. And it seemed as soon as he said that everything that would lead me to be a pastor fell into place. I guess you can say he spoke it into existence."
The following year after this declaration, the then 21-year-old Hall was accepted to do theological training at American Baptist (College) Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, where he obtained his Bachelors degree in Theology. He said he knew from then, that he truly had a gift of speech and persuasion because he performed exceptionally in his speech and articulation classes. Skills he learned then, he said, have aided him throughout the years to be the well-known outspoken minister people know today.
"I just had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and I was so eager to keep on going. Even when I graduated in 1973 I still had dreams to continue my education. I went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee for a short while but decided to come home. Then in 1979, I went to Southern Baptist College in Louisville, Kentucky for some summer classes, but I ended my studies there and decided to really dedicate myself to pastoral work and evangelism, which is my passion."
Upon his return from college, Hall found a home at St. Paul's Baptist Church as co-minister under Pastor Colebrooke. The feeling he got in this new area of life he said was exactly what he had been looking for. But he said he was so passionate about God's work that he always felt a little restrained. That resulted in him preaching and attending every Baptist Church in The Bahamas and venturing to even non-Baptist congregations. He said he felt such a fire for his work, he knew no limits to sharing what God placed on his heart. His insatiable appetite eventually led to what he described as one of his greatest personal accomplishments - the formation of his own church.
Bishop Hall started New Covenant Baptist Church in 1982.
"It was a wonderful thing to be able to lead a people in the way God intended for it to be done. I have been blessed to be able to accomplish what I have been allowed to these last few decades. I have touched lives and done God's work as a pastor. It has been great," he said.
Over his decades in ministry, another of his proudest achievements included being able to preach at the annual Baptist crusade for 20 consecutive years. Although he has his own congregations, he said he still always aims to reach more people whenever the opportunity arises.
With evangelism and mission work as his root passion, borne out of his first trip with Pastor Colebrooke, Bishop Hall jumps at opportunities to also travel for that reason as well. He has traveled to places in Africa, Asia, Europe and across the United States. He actually said the only inhabited continent he has not been to is Australia, and that one of his most memorable trips was to South Africa, where he visited for 23 days and preached in 17 churches. He remembers the South African trip as a rush which left him tired for a week at the end, but wonderful all the same.
His tenure as head pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church is coming to an end, but Bishop Hall said riding off quietly into the sunset, sitting on a rocker on his porch isn't the scene he's looking forward to. He still intends to be active in evangelistic work and will always make himself available to his church as a consultant and guide.
"My retirement will allow me to do more evangelistic work and mission trips. I will not be involved in everyday aspects of the running of the chuch anymore but I will be here to be of any assistance that I can be," he said.
Candidates for the next head pastor's position at New Covenant Baptist Church include Pastor Kelvin Briggs, Pastor Trajean Jadorette and Pastor Stephen Wells.
A number of celebratory events in honor of Bishop Hall commence on Sunday, March 3 with an ecumenical thanksgiving service to be held at 6 p.m. at New Covenant, with guest ministers, Elgarnet Rahming, overseer of Church of God of Prophecy; Pastor Tom Roberts of East Street Gospel Chapel; Father Sebastian Campbell of St. Gregory's Anglican Church; Rev. Timothy Stewart of Bethel Baptist Church; Rev. Anthony Carroll, president of the Baptist Convention; Bishop Ros Davis of Golden Gates Assemblies; Bishop Albert Hepburn of United Christian Cathedral and Father Harry Ward from the Anglican Diocese.
Bishop Hall is married to Linda Farrington-Hall since 1970. Together they have three children.

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