The pastor who has been a member of the church for five years assumes the post as Bishop Simeon Hall retires from the senior pastor's position after 30 years. He takes over a church that has been dubbed a church with theological soundness and a strong social conscience with Bishop Hall willingly speaking out on issues that other pastors would not touch. "This work then means to me to be a beacon in our society -- one that preaches hope, grace, forgiveness of God and also a strong relationship with God and what it means in every day life for persons," said Pastor Jadorette. "So what Bishop Hall would have done in the last 30 years is really tremendous in my opinion and a huge deal.
He laid a foundation that we simply have to build upon. And that's my goal to build on what has already been laid." To do that he brings a hands-on leadership style to the office. He believes in autonomy when people are given tasks, but Pastor Jadorette said he still likes to be hands-on. "Not necessarily to micro-manage, but I like to be hands-on. I like to be a hands-on leader who is very practical," he said. And while a number of churches encounter friction when it's time to elect a new leader, he said the event-free process that gave him the senior role showed that the membership had confidence in him. It's his goal to have that confidence strengthened over the years.
"I think they have quite a bit of confidence in me and I pray that I continue to lean on God as I would have in all my years in ministry since I've given my life to Christ, so that that confidence can be strengthened over the years as well," he said. Pastor Jadorette also has a vision to make church exciting again. "I think our young people strayed quite a bit and even some of our older people ... society has really become overly materialistic. My hope is that we can make church exciting again, a place where folks can come and get closer to God.
If we can do that, and that spreads like a virus in society, we can get the kind of spiritual underpinning that we once enjoyed in this country," he said. "My vision for the next 30 years if it be that long, is to once again point people back to Christ. And we're going to do that using several mediums -- the different ministries that we have in the church, it is my goal and vision to strengthen those different arms of the church so we can bring folks in to bring them closer to Christ," he said.
Pastor Jadorette, who was born and raised in Grand Bahama will be assisted in his duties at the church by pastors Kelvin Briggs and Stephen Wells Sr., homegrown ministers who have been under Bishop Hall's ministry for the last 30 years, since the church's inception. Bishop Hall demits office on Sunday, November 18. Pastor Jadorette received his theological training at the American Baptist College (ABC) in Tennessee. Upon completion of his ABC assignment, he enrolled at Fisk University where he earned a master's degree in sociology.
He is a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Reserve, guidance counselor at C.R. Walker Senior School, and part-time lecturer at Bahamas Baptist Community College. He is married to Rhonda Williams-Jadorette. Bishop Hall said Pastor Jadorette's assumption of the leadership role augurs well for the future of New Covenant Baptist Church in terms of taking the church to the next level. And that he took great pride in what the church has done and what it is poised to do. "The Bahamian public expects churches to be institutions of peace and citadels of hope.
We are glad that we have made this transition in a manner befitting our Christian ideals," said Bishop Hall. Assistant pastor-elect Reverend Briggs, a banker, who heeded the call of God on his life, has been actively involved in ministry for over 20 years at New Covenant Baptist Church. He presently holds the position of pastor in charge of finance. Rev. Wells Sr., the other assistant pastor-elect was ordained as a deacon in 1992. He obtained his deacon's ministerial certification at Covington Theological Seminary. In October 2008, he was once again ordained as a minister of pastoral care and pulpit ministries. He became a devoted follower and disciple of God under the leadership and guidance of Bishop Hall.
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