Willie Mack Bell was born and raised in Roper, NC. At an early age, he left Roper NC to work in NY. While In NY Brother Willie Mack Bell attended the church his mother joined – the First Pentecostal Church of The Apostolic Faith, which was pastored by his Grand Uncle Isaac Rowson. Brother Bell repented of his sins, was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, tarried around the altar and in September of 1963, the Lord filled him with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost , speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. From that time on, Brother Willie Mack Bell had a vision to work for God.
In 1964, he married the love of his life, Margaret Stokes in NY and they were blessed with 3 children – Rhonda, Valerie and Timothy. The Lord dealt with Brother Bell and he received his calling to minister the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1971.
After having finished building his house in 1976, he and his family left NY and returned back to Roper, NC for good with their 3 children. After relocating, the Lord saw fit to bless them with their fourth son – Christopher.
Minister Bell began preaching in the Southland, working with several churches in Edenton and Roper, NC. During this time, the saints, Elder Bell and his family would meet at the home of Deacon and Sister Gibbs for prayer. After several meetings, Elder Henry Rowson, Elder & Sister Taylor, Deacon & Sister Gibbs and Brother & Sister Liverman asked Minister Bell if he would be their pastor. While continuing to execute his vision to work for God, Minister Bell excepted his mission and he and his wife converted their home garage into a place of worship. The bible does say that your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. On July 19th, 1981, Minister Bell was ordained as an Elder by Bishop Farrow who was the pastor at the church he received the precious Holy Ghost in Mt. Vernon and in 1982, The Church of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was established and is still located at Highway 45, Plymouth, North Carolina. As the attendance grew, the Lord gave Bishop Bell the vison to add a kitchen/dining area onto the church grounds so that saints could eat and fellowship together without having a time constraint on them and in 1993 the work began. God blessed the saints to have a beautiful place to eat natural food after being fed their spiritual food.
We know that the enemy is always fighting and in 2007, Bishop Bell was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Just to show you proof that God always comes through for not only His people, but his anointed men of God Bishop Bell was healed of prostate cancer in 2012. That same year, Bishop Bell dropped a total of 30 pounds in a matter of 2 weeks, had no appetite and found out that is blood glucose level was 450 which meant diabetes. When the late Mother Clara learned of Bishop’s loss in appetite, she told Mother Bell to get a head of cabbage and a white potato, boil and let Bishop drink it. He drank 4 cups of the cabbage broth in one hour and the Lord restored his appetite.
The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ has an additional location in Mt. Vernon, NY.
In the time we are currently living in, it’s an honor, privilege and blessing to have such a great man of God who still stands on the word of God. Bishop Willie M. Bell is kind, adores the word and truly loves the togetherness of the saints. We pray that God continues to bless and keep him to always be “A Man with a Vision”!!!