Education, family, and vocation
A teacher and administrator prepared to lead.
Bernard Nathaniel Bragg earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s Degree in Education from Coppin State College in Baltimore. He married Beverly A. Williams on June 30, 1984, and began serving as Senior Pastor of New Life Restoration Temple in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1991.
His professional life was rooted in public education. Within the Baltimore City Public School System, he served successively as a teacher, department head, and administrator before taking early retirement in October 2000. That educational background shaped the clarity, structure, and emphasis on development that characterized his ministry.
Formation and episcopal service
Prepared under apostolic mentorship for a season of succession.
Bishop Bragg traced his spiritual formation to December 23, 1973, when he began years of training under his pastor, spiritual father, and mentor, Apostle Robert Evans, Jr. He was ordained to ministry on October 18, 1986, and later served Beth-El as General Secretary and as a member of the Executive Board.
During the 11th Holy Convocation in 1999, he was consecrated to the office of Bishop and assigned as an Episcopal Diocesan. In 2001, following the passing of Beth-El’s Establishmentarian and First Apostle, Bishop Bragg was elected to serve as the fellowship’s second Presiding Bishop.
His leadership extended beyond the national church. His biography records service connected with youth development, support for individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS, ministry to women experiencing hardship, and networks that strengthened women pastors and evangelists.
Leadership and community impact
A ministry committed to education, evangelism, and empowerment.
Bishop Bragg’s work joined spiritual leadership with educational and economic concern for the community. He served as chief executive of the New Life Community Development Corporation and Bernard N. Bragg Ministries, was recognized in Who’s Who Among American Pastors, and received two honorary doctorate degrees.
He was remembered as an honorable and disciplined leader who wanted believers to mature, prosper, and dwell together in unity. His nearly two decades as Presiding Bishop carried Beth-El through an important period of continuity and development following the death of its Establishmentarian.
His Eminence Bishop Bernard Nathaniel Bragg entered eternal rest on March 15, 2019, while in Cleveland, Ohio. Beth-El honors him as the second leader in its apostolic succession and as a servant whose pastoral, educational, and episcopal labor strengthened the fellowship for the generation that followed.
His leadership joined the care of souls with a serious commitment to education, community development, and institutional strength.
