BISHOP JAMES W. GAITERS, SR. - Diocesan

Bishop James W. Gaiters, Sr. moved to Columbus, Ohio after graduation from high school and became a member of the Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith under the pastorate of the late Bishop Karl F. Smith. He attended Aenon Bible College, and was called to the ministry in 1965. He began to pastor in 1969 in his hometown of Zanesville, Ohio, having returned there from Columbus, Ohio to assume oversight of a small work that had been founded by his grandmother. That small congregation of 4 grew to become the now flourishing Greater Apostolic Church of Christ. He lovingly pastored there for nearly 21 years, serving both his congregation and his community.

Having a strong passion for missions, Pastor Gaiters led his church in regular participation in all things “missions minded”. He organized monthly and annual fund raising events and faithfully supported the PAW Foreign Missions efforts, primarily in Egypt, Africa, China, and Haiti.

In 1989, Bishop Gaiters returned to Columbus to become assistant pastor to his father-in-law, the late District Elder Ernest L. Hardy, at the Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith. After Elder Hardy’s transition to glory, Bishop Gaiters founded Grace Apostolic Church in Columbus, Ohio. This thriving ministry ministers to spirit, soul and body through many avenues of outreach, including the E.L. Hardy Community Enrichment Center, an outreach facility housed on the church campus. Year-round programming originating in this facility serves hundreds of children and families in the inner city.

Grace Apostolic Church is a member of the Ohio District Council, Episcopal District #3, of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. In Ohio, Bishop Gaiters served 8 years as a District Elder, and 16 years as administrator of the O.D.C. Campgrounds, now known as “Hallowed Hills”, and has recently been elevated to the position of Diocesan. He was a member of the P.A.W. International Missions Board from 1979 to 2007. He served 8 years as its secretary. In 1997 he was elevated to the Bishopric and served 10 years as Bishop of International Missions. For many years, Pastor Gaiters travelled the world for the cause of Christ and the work of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, contributing to and partaking hands-on in feeding, clothing, and bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands of souls. His travel for the organization took him to Africa (Liberia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, and Kenya), Brazil, Canada, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, England, France, Amsterdam, Haiti, Hawaii, Jamaica, Japan, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Under his leadership, his pastorates have been actively involved in response to major crisis situations in Haiti, the tsunami in SE Asia, a starvation crisis in Monrovia, Liberia, and have provided assistance to the Louisiana Council (Katrina), and the Texas Council (Hurricane Ike). He has facilitated, by his recommendations, the replacement of outgoing bishops and the development of new international dioceses and diocesans. He currently serves as a member of the P.A.W. Board of Bishops, a member of the Executive Bishops Council, chairman of the P.A.W. Global Evangelism Executive Committee (GEEC), and Director of the P.A.W. International Missions Department.

Bishop Gaiters is founder and chairman of Pentecost Sunday Ohio, Inc., a fellowship formed in 2009 to unite churches of like precious faith in Columbus and Central Ohio in the annual celebration of Pentecost Sunday. Since its first Pentecost Revival, the fellowship has grown to include the cities of Piqua, Springfield, Dayton, and Cleveland, Ohio, as well as churches from a sister organization, the Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the ministry of PSO, many souls have been added to the kingdom.

Bishop Gaiters, and his wife, Marcia, were married in October, 1965, and are the parents of two sons and two daughters, grandparents of 10, and have one great-grandson.