+ Epps... Bishop!

Father David Epps, pastor of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, will be consecrated as a bishop in the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC) on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. The service will be conducted in the sanctuary of Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Highway 54, Peachtree City.

Epps, 56, was elected at the U. S. House of Bishops in Orlando during October to serve the Mid-South Diocese which includes Georgia and Tennessee. The election was made necessary when, in June 2007, the Diocesan Bishop, The Most Reverend John W. Holloway, 53, suffered a debilitating stroke. Epps will serve as auxiliary bishop with Holloway remaining the diocesan.

The consecrators for the service will be The Most Reverend Charles Jones, Archbishop of the Southeast Province, The Most Reverend David Simpson, Bishop of Florida, and The Most Reverend Gene Lilly, Auxiliary Bishop of the Southeast Province.

Epps, who first began ministry as a youth worker in 1971, was licensed to preach by the United Methodist Church in 1975 and was later ordained in the Assemblies of God in 1978. In 1996, he was ordained a priest in the ICCEC.

Prior to 1983, Epps served United Methodist and Assembly of God churches in Tennessee, Virginia, and Colorado. In June 1983, he became the pastor of Fayette Fellowship Assembly of God, Peachtree City, which later relocated to Sharpsburg and was renamed Trinity Fellowship.

In September 1996, Epps and 18 other people planted Christ the King Church which met for six years at Carmichael-Hemperly Funeral Home in Peachtree City.In November 2002, the church relocated to its present site on 12 acres in Coweta County. The church currently has approximately 250 people who claim the church as their home. In addition, Christ the King has assisted in the planting of other congregations in Hogansville, Fayetteville, and Champaign, Ill.

Epps is a graduate of Berean College of the Assemblies of God, East Tennessee State University, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, International Seminary, and Berean Graduate School of Divinity, an institution founded by Carrie Nation. He is a current doctor of ministry candidate at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry.

Epps, a karate black belt and former instructor, also received an honorary doctorate for his work with youth and martial arts ministry from Great Plains Baptist College and Seminary. For 18 years, he has served as the chaplain for the Peachtree City Police Department and is a graduate of the police academy in Fulton County.

Within the ICCEC, Epps has served as canon to the ordinary for the Mid-South Diocese, canon to the ordinary for the Archdiocese of the Armed Forces, chair of the Diocesan Commission on Ordained Ministry, as a member of the Mid-South Diocese Bishop’s Council, and as a member of the Provincial Council for the Southeast Province.

A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Epps also served with the Tennessee Army National Guard and served as a chaplain (with the rank of captain) for the Georgia State Defense Force, an auxiliary of the Georgia Army National Guard.
Epps has been published in over 20 magazines and journals and he has served as a regular weekly columnist for The Citizen newspapers for nearly 11 years.

He is married to the former Cynthia Douglas, a professor of nursing at the University of West Georgia. They have three adult sons and nine grandchildren.

The consecration service, which will be followed by a reception, is open to the public.

Article courtesy of The Citizen