Bishop Ronnie Elijah Brailsford, Sr. is the 136th elected and consecrated Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and currently serves as the Presiding Prelate of the Tenth Episcopal District of the AME Church, encompassing the state of Texas. A native of Clarendon County, South Carolina, Bishop Brailsford has devoted nearly five decades to ministry, discipleship, leadership development, education, community transformation, and global humanitarian service.

Elected to the episcopacy during the 50th Quadrennial General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia in 2016, Bishop Brailsford has provided visionary leadership across multiple Episcopal Districts in the United States and Africa. Previously, he served as Presiding Prelate of the Nineteenth Episcopal District in South Africa, comprised of 246 churches and more than 54,000 members. He served the Twentieth Episcopal District of the AME Church, with 223 churches and over 23,000 members, which includes Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique. During his combined eight-year tenure, the two Districts experienced remarkable spiritual and growth, in new members as thousands were added There was the planting and construction of numerous churches, and expanded educational and humanitarian outreach initiatives.

Under the leadership of Bishop and Episcopal Supervisor Reverend Carolyn Elizabeth Brailsford, medical mission efforts provided care for more than 11,000 individuals through medical, dental, dermatology, and vision services. Their administration also supported over 20,000 students and educators with school supplies, provided disaster relief assistance for thousands of families, and helped establish educational scholarship partnerships, including a collaboration with Africa University supporting fully funded scholarships for African students.

Bishop Brailsford graduated as Valedictorian of Scott’s Branch High School in Summerton, South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center where he was both a Benjamin E. Mays Fellow and John Middleton Scholar, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. He also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from AME University.

Before entering full-time ministry, Bishop Brailsford developed a broad professional background in hospitality, marketing, insurance, investments, economic development, and community development. Those experiences later informed his leadership in ministry, organizational administration, and community engagement. He has a very diverse background in his professional work. He served in the hospitality industry of hotels and truck stops for 10 years as part of his servanthood development (1968-1978). This included positions with the Southwestern Publishing Company (1978 to 1982); Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (1983 to 1988); Atlanta Economic Development Corporation Fellow (1989 to 1990); Atlanta Neighborhood Development Corporation (1990 to 1993).

From 1992 to 2016, Bishop Brailsford served as Pastor of Bethel AME Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where the congregation experienced extraordinary spiritual, numerical, and financial growth. During his pastorate, he relocated Bethel to a 1.5 city block campus that included five buildings with 86,000-square-foot of transformative space and expanded its educational ministry through the development of the accredited Bethel Learning Centers, which has served thousands of students since its founding.

Widely respected for his integrity, wisdom, relational leadership, and commitment to social action, justice and human dignity, Bishop Brailsford continues to serve as a faith leader, mentor, educator, and advocate for transformational leadership both nationally and internationally.

Bishop Brailsford and Reverend Carolyn Elizabeth Brailsford have been married since 1983 and are the proud parents of three children and eight grandchildren.