By: Michelle Jones, Follow South Jersey Corresponding Writer
SALEM, N.J. – If you grew up in Salem City then most assuredly you have run into or at the very least, heard of the dynamic Bishop Joyce Lewis.
Small in stature, with a shock of white hair, this beautiful woman makes her presence known wherever she is. Whether quietly in the back of a crowded room or standing under a tent with a microphone singing at the top of her lungs one cannot help but be touched by her presence.
Having grown up in Salem her entire life, Bishop Lewis has been involved in the church in one capacity or another from the time she gave her heart to Jesus at the age of 10. Her grandfather, Pop Byrd, was a reverend and her siblings and cousins were part of the Byrd Family Singers growing up. Bishop Lewis herself has been in one form of ministry in or another for over 50 years. To this day all three of her daughters, her grandchildren and nieces are involved in ministry as either preachers, musicians or singers.
Bishop Lewis is a strong believer in living by faith. She shared a story of being a single young mother who by faith was called by the Lord to go to Texas to help a ministry. With no money and nowhere to live she willingly left by faith. On her journey, her car broke down and was repaired for free miraculously. After getting to Texas, the first pastor she met is also a realtor Band within days she had a place to live. At one point, when she was behind on her rent and about to be evicted on a Monday, she received a gift from the Lord via people she was ministering to to cover more than three months back rent. The Lord has never failed her.
Bishop Lewis learned through those experiences that if you trust in God you will be taken care of, joyfully taken care of by our Heavenly Father.
While Bishop Joyce has a thriving ministry in Salem, she also has ministries world wide. A number of years ago she was told through prophetic word that she was being called to International Ministry. At the time she thought it was funny and impossible. But now, this tiny woman, who would sit quietly in a group of people, has traveled to South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines, Cuba, Mexico, and Guyana, South America all for ministry purposes. In 2022 she launched International Covenant Fellowship of Churches and Ministries and she is the overseeing bishop for churches in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and South America.
On top of International Ministries, Bishop Lewis has held tent revivals here in the City of Salem for a good portion of 10 years and plans to continue these dynamic events. When asked if she had a message to give to the community her message is this: “Get right with God and do it now, the time is short! It’s Harvest Time.”
If ever given the opportunity to sit down and talk with Bishop Joyce Lewis you are guaranteed to laugh, cry, be touched by the spirit, and leave having made a new friend you just can’t get enough of. Big things come in small packages and Bishop Lewis is the living walking proof of that.
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