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John Drew Sheard Sr.: A Look into the Life of the Church of God in Christ’s Presiding Bishop

John Drew Sheard is an American pastor and minister best known as the current Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). He was elected as leader of the denomination in an all-virtual online election in March 2020. COGIC has over 6 million members of the African-American Holiness-Pentecostal denomination and is one of the largest African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States. John Drew Sheard is also the pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institution Church of God in Christ in Michigan.

Please keep reading to get a glimpse into the life of Bishop John Drew, his ministry, and his family life.

John Drew Sheard Sr. Age

He was born in Detroit, Michigan, on 1 January 1959 to John Henry Sheard and Willie Mae Sheard. John was raised a Pentecostal Christian in the Church of God in Christ. His younger brother Ethan Blake is also a pastor of the COGIC denomination. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Wayne State University. He balanced between his career as a clergyman and working as a secondary math teacher in the Detroit Public Schools District.

John Drew Personal Life

John married Karen Clark, a Gospel singer and member of the Gospel vocal group The Clark Sisters, in 1984. His wife is the daughter of Mattie Moss Clark, a Gospel Choir Director who served as COGIC’s international music department president.

John and Karen Clark have two children: a daughter named Kierra “Kiki” Sheard and a son John Drew “J. Drew” Sheard II. Kiki is a gospel recording artist with four albums. J. Drew is a musician and producer. He often plays drums for the Clark Sisters and other gospel singers and groups.

Karen went through a life-threatening experience in 2001 when a blood vessel broke during bariatric surgery. The doctors gave her a 2% chance of survival, and she lapsed into a coma. Three and a half weeks later, Clark came out of the coma, and she attributes her recovery to God’s grace and healing power.

Apart from being her husband, John had supported Karen throughout her career life as her manager when she was with the Clark Sisters and as a solo artist.

John lost his mother to the COVID-19 virus and disease in April 2020. His father had also contracted the disease but recovered a few months later. He died on 11 November 2021 from an infection.

John Drew Ministerial Career

In the ’80s and ’90s, he served in various capacities with the COGIC denomination, including as a choir director, chairman of local and state youth departments, National Adjutant Overseer, and an Executive Secretary of the International Youth Department of the COGIC denomination. John was ordained as the senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institution COGIC (Detroit, Michigan) in 1988. The church has become one of Michigan’s largest and fastest-growing COGIC churches. He served as the International President of the Youth Department from 1996 to 2000. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Auxiliaries in Ministry from 2001 to 2004.

In March 2020, John was elected as the Presiding Bishop of the COGIC denomination. He was officially inaugurated and installed for the role on 22 June 2021.

Wrapping Up

Bishop John comes from a family of Pentecostal Christians, and his commitment to the ministry earned him a high place in the COGIC denomination.

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