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Having received the call to become the Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church at the age of twenty-five, Stewart has become one of the longest serving pastors of the oldest Baptist church in The Bahamas, and the oldest continuing Baptist church in the Caribbean.
Throughout his tenure, he has faithfully served the constituencies of Bain and Grants Town, which are among the largest and oldest working-class communities in The Bahamas.
His leadership has been demonstrated for decades and his gifts have elevated him in August 2018, to become the first ever non-American to ascend to President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. which has membership of more than 2.5 million believers throughout North America, the Caribbean and the world.
The Progressive National Baptist Convention, a national church body that Rev. Dr Martin Luther King helped to establish in 1961, is a member of the Historic Black Church family.
Stewart’s National accomplishments are many. He served as the moderator of the Bethel Baptist Association in Nassau, Bahamas since 1997. Stewart was also Executive Board member of the Bahamas National Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention.
Stewart has taken on a leadership challenge as a National voice to provide spiritual guidance to Political leaders and Bahamians in general on matters affecting National Development, and more specifically underprivileged people. He has served as board member to a plethora of organizations in the Bahamas including the Prerogative of Mercy Board, Judicial Review Commission, Hospital and Health Care Facilities Licensing Board, Chaplain of the House of Assembly, Board Member of the Bahamas Development Bank and Member of The Bahamas Juvenile Panel.
His early Christian training included a 1980 Bachelor of Arts Degree in Bible and Theology with a minor in History and Social Science from the American Baptist College. Stewart pursued a Master of Divinity Degree in Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but during his matriculation he was called home to Nassau to Pastor Bethel Baptist Church. Nevertheless, he continued his formal education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky between 1980-1982, and was awarded the Master of Divinity and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Eastern Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, Virginia.
Steward is survived by his wife Sharon Stewart, three sons, three sisters and one brother.
The WCC holds all those related to the Progressive National Baptist Convention in prayer.
