A. R. Bernard

A.R. Bernard is the founding Pastor and CEO of the Christian Cultural Center (CCC) located in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. This faith-based organization currently has over 29,000 members and is situated on an convert|11|acre|m2|sing=on campus.

Biography

Born in Panama in 1953, Bernard came to New York at the age of four with his mother and they settled in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He was part of the 1960s desegregation movement in the public school system being bussed to school in Ridgewood, Queens and then attended Grover Cleveland High School. In order to help his mother in their single parent household, Bernard worked after school in the garment district pushing garment racks for $2.00 per hour. In his senior year, he left the garment district for a job at Bankers Trust Company. Beginning as a clerk in the Consumer Lending Division he earned a number of promotions leading to Operations Specialist in the Consumer Lending Division.

Establishment of Church

Prior to becoming a Christian, Bernard was a Black Muslim. Bernard's former Muslim coreligioners were upset that he became a Christian. Bernard left the banking world to answer his calling to full time ministry in 1979. Starting with a Bible Study group in a kitchen, he and his wife Karen took their savings and rented a small storefront in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. As his ministry grew, so did the need for a larger facility. In 1979, Household of Faith Ministries was incorporated with Bernard as its president and CEO. In 1988 the ministry purchased an abandoned supermarket in Brownsville and renovated it into a 1000 seat sanctuary complete with ministry offices and a bookstore. Christian Life Center became its new name and the ministry moved into its new property in June 1989 with 625 members.

Further growth

The ministry was quickly outgrowing its home on Linden Blvd. With four services at capacity, and overflow rooms full, the need for a larger facility was evident. In 1995 a vacant lot adjacent to Starrett City was purchased and soon after, construction began. On December 31, 2000, under the leadership of Bernard, Christian Cultural Center took its new name and moved into its new home. The convert|6.5|acre|m2|sing=on sanctuary and conference center also includes a café, bookstore and restaurant. A new paradigm in houses of worship, Christian Cultural Center is one of the largest independent churches in the tri-state area, valued at over forty million dollars, and its President and CEO, Bernard remains a highly sought after speaker, teacher and community leader.

Future expansion and development is anticpated on a convert|4.5|acre|m2|sing=on of land adjacent to the current facility, which was recently purchased by the ministry.

Outreach programs

Outreach programs under his leadership include a food pantry serving the homeless and those in need, Prison Ministry, Literacy and Sonrise, an aid to substance abusers–assisting with counseling and an extensive referral system. A partnership was formed with JHS 275, the neighborhood middle school. As part of that partnership the ministry provided computers, sponsored trips to Washington DC, provided the use of church facilities for their graduations and initiated an annual scholarship to their valedictorian. Today, the ministry continues to support organizations such as Anchor House and Teen Challenge.

The Bookstore

Cornerstone Booksellers, which began as a single table operation in the storefront, is now a half a million dollar per year business, serving church members and ministries both locally and internationally. It is a provider of bibles, books, recordings, videos and gifts and is among the larger Christian Bookstores in New York.

Christian Men's Network

In 1990 while the ministry continued to grow, Bernard was asked to serve on the Board of Directors for the Christian Men’s Network (CMN) to help restructure the organization. During his six years on the board, CMN grew to an organization with 74 international offices and with a presence in approximately 150 nations. In addition to serving as Treasurer for the board, Bernard was one of their most requested speakers. With the passing of Dr. Edwin Louis Cole in 2002 he became the President of CMN. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, the Caribbean Islands and to the continents of Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe addressing religious organizations, businessmen and political dignitaries.

Involvement in education

Bernard is also the founder of Brooklyn Preparatory School (BPS) in New York City. Formed in 1993, BPS is a premiere early education institution dedicated to serving young children, ages 3-6. Their June 1999 first grade graduates ranked 91st in the national percentile in reading and 96th in the national percentile in mathematics.

Christian Renaissance Corporation

Along with a number of ministers and not-for-profit representatives, Bernard formed the Christian Renaissance Corporation, established to foster urban revitalization through an alliance of church and para-church organizations. They have already sponsored a forum on Faith-Based Initiatives featuring Dr. John DiIulio and "United We Rise", a Memorial Service in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks which was broadcast live via satellite to over 25 sites throughout the tri-state area, churches around the country and 1,700 stations throughout parts of North and Latin America. It has since been rebroadcast throughout the nation and internationally via television and radio. CRC currently represents a constituency of over 100,000 people.

Leadership, achievements and politics

Presidents, Senators, and a host of other influential figures have honored Bernard for his outstanding leadership and achievements. New York Magazine named Bernard as one of their "Most Influential New Yorkers". In February 2007, Bernard was named by a consortium of organizations in the "New York Daily News" as the number one religious leader in New York.

On February 27, 2007, he was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Consulate General of Israel in New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish National Fund.

Bernard has been personally cited in the Congressional record at least twice. He sits on several different boards including Anchor House, and Teen Challenge – a teen substance abuse program with a 70% success rate. In addition, under Commissioner Howard Safir, he sat on the NYC Police Department Advisory Board for Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect. Bernard presently serves as Chaplain to the Division of Law Enforcement of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Police. He is also a board member of the New York City Economic Development Corporation ("EDC") appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a member of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Prompted by Bernard's influence as a life coach to many high profile individuals, People Magazine recently highlighted his bi-coastal study group, which remains well attended by celebrities, sports figures and entertainers.

Media coverage

Bernard has been featured in "New York Magazine", "The New York Times", "The New York Post", "The New York Daily News", "Black Enterprise", "Essence", "Class Magazine", "Charisma" and a host of other newspapers and magazines.which

He has also appeared on Fox News Channel, NBC's "Today", MSNBC, CBS News, BET, "The 700 Club", TBN's "Praise the Lord", "Tony Brown's Journal" as well as various national and local news programs.which

A.R. Bernard Broadcasts

Bernard is the host of two weekly television broadcasts. "Faith In Practice" and "A.R. Bernard" - air nationally on TBN, TV One and the FamilyNet Networks and in New York on WWOR and WRNN. Bernard's radio broadcasts can be heard nationwide on Salem Communication stations and locally within New York’s tri-state area on WMCA, WLIB and WBLS.

External links

* [http://www.cccinfo.org Christian Cultural Center's official website]
* [http://www.arb.tv A.R. Bernard's official website]
* [http://nymag.com/news/features/influentials/16921/ "The Influentials: Religion"] , "New York Magazine"