In November, of 1979 A. R. Bernard left a 10 year career with a major New York banking institution to go into full time ministry. What started as a small storefront church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has now blossomed into a 30,000+ member church that sits on an 11.5 acre campus in the Spring Creek section of Brooklyn, New York. He is founder and CEO of Christian Cultural Center.

A. R. Bernard Sr. is also the President of the Council of Churches of the City of New York representing 1.5 million Protestants, Anglicans and Orthodox Christians.

Bernard sits on the NYC Economic Development Corporation Board; NYC School Chancellor’s Advisory Cabinet and served on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2001 Transition Team.

Recognized as a New Influential – 25 Leaders Reshaping New York (Crain’s New York Business, September 2008); Most Influential NY Clergyman (NY Daily News, February 2008); Most Influential African American New Yorker (NY Post, February 2008); New York’s Most Influential (NY Magazine, 2006); Bernard was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Consulate General of Israel in NY in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council and, Jewish National Fund. He has been personally cited in the Congressional Records.

In 1993, Bernard founded Brooklyn Preparatory School, a premiere early childhood education institution. He continues to revitalize communities; recently partnering with Common Ground to build and develop affordable housing in the East New York/Canarsie section of Brooklyn and leading a transformational team to purchase one of the nation’s largest Mitchell Lama Programs (Starrett City, Brooklyn, NY).

In addition to establishing Christian Cultural Center’s Food Pantry, Prison Ministry, Domestic Violence Initiative and Family Life Center, Bernard organized a rapidly growing male mentoring program with more than 1000 male mentors.

Bernard has a Master of Urban Studies and a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. In May of 2009, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary.

Married 37 years to his wife, Karen.