Bishop Earl W. McKay was born in Kingston, Jamaica and migrated to New York at an early age with his siblings to join their mother who resided in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He soon accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and became a charter member of the newly organized Tompkins Avenue Church of God of Prophecy (now at Church Avenue), under the leadership of the late Bishop Eric Barnes.

Bishop McKay married Ella Aurora Simon in 1974 while serving as youth director of the Tompkins Ave Church and District Youth Director of the Brooklyn District. In 1975, Bishop McKay was set forth as an evangelist after attending Bible Training Institute in Cleveland, Tennessee. In 1976, he was appointed State Youth Director for New York under the leadership of State Overseer Bishop Edward L. Jones.

1n 1977, while serving as State Youth Ministries Director, he was appointed pastor of the St. Albans congregation in Queens NY, by incoming State Overseer, Bishop Barney L. Trogdon. The following year, he served a two-year term overseas as missionary pastor of the Curving Ave. Church of God of Prophecy on the island nation of Bermuda, where he also served as Executive Board member and secretary of the Bermuda Pentecostal Ministerial Fellowship. Bishop McKay was called back to the United States in 1980 to pastor the Rochester, NY Church of God of Prophecy, and was also appointed District Overseer of the Churches of Western New York. In 1982, he was appointed as pastor for the State Headquarters church in Albany, New York and served also as Business Manager for Camp Wildwood, the State Youth Camp program, and as State Winter Retreat Director.

1n 1985 Bishop McKay was appointed to pastor the Jerusalem Ave. church in Hempstead Long Island, and served also as District Overseer for the churches of the Long Island District.

During his first ten years of pastorate, Bishop McKay devoted time to educational pursuits to enhance his ministry experience. He holds a Professional Certificate in Economic Education for Clergy from Russell Sage College, Albany NY; Associate Degree with concentration in Biblical Studies from Berkshire Christian College, Lennox Mass; Bachelors Degree in Theology from Molloy College, Rockville Centre, Long Island with minors in both Sociology and History; and a Masters Degree in Urban Ministry from Alliance Theological Seminary, Nyack, NY.

In 1988, Bishop McKay was called to pastor The Bronx 85 East 165th Street Congregation of the Church of God of Prophecy upon the retirement of Bishop Gladstone Royal. In addition, he was later assigned as District Overseer of the churches of the Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester Rockland and Bermuda District.

In 1990, Bishop McKay was ordained and consecrated a bishop at the International General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy in Cleveland, Tennessee, by General Overseer, Bishop Billy D. Murray

Bishop McKay has been serving the Borough of the Bronx for more than two decades. Through his ministry and various outreaches, “The Bronx Church” has grown on every level and has made a positive impact throughout the community. Every event is purposely designed around outreach with the goal of touching and elevating lives and reaching souls. Whether it be our Street Fair, Culture day, Easter and Christmas Cantatas, Marriage Seminars, Annual Tent Crusade, Seven-Week Summer Day Camp, weekly food pantry, lunch and dinner programs serving over 1200 community residents per month, or our HIV testing program on site in partnership with the Momentum Program, every program is designed to touch and transform lives.

Additionally, through Bishop McKay’s leadership, our congregation fosters leadership development with annual leadership retreats, monthly leadership and ministerial development sessions, and strong emphasis on overseas mission by fostering mission trips to Bermuda, Dominica and Haiti. In particular, our congregation facilitates medical clinics supporting orphans and schools, distribute food and medical and school supplies to the indigent in the remote mountains of Haiti in partnership with Jean Claude Belizaire, as well as support and contribute to mission work and workers in India and Africa

Bishop McKay is well-known for his dedication to the Word and is a gifted and well-respected teacher and preacher of the gospel. He has distinguished himself in the areas of preaching, teaching, evangelizing, exhortation and Christian counseling. In 2008, he guided his congregation through a vision-casting process to discern God’s direction for the local church and to become more harvest-focused.

Bishop McKay has been instrumental in the planting of three churches: The Freeport Long Island Church of God of Prophecy, a now thriving Hispanic Congregation which has since relocated to Hempstead LI; The Gerard Ave. Church of God of Prophecy in the Bronx NY, a Hispanic congregation which was incubated in the English Congregation as an outreach to the Hispanic community; and the Reconciled Church, which was also incubated and launched out of an English speaking congregation

A strong community advocate, Bishop McKay was appointed by the Bronx Borough president to serve as board member of Community Planning Board Four. He is Chairman of the Housing and Land Use Committee for Community Planning Board Four and a member of the Executive Committee. His other community involvements include: Clergy Liaison to the NYPD, partner with Bronx Health Reach, Executive Board Member Bronx HIV Network and he served as past President of the Clergy Coalition of the 44th Precinct.

He is a member of the Church’s Regional Administrative Committee, Finance Committee and past Chair of the Regional Ministerial Review Board.

Married 37 years to Ella Aurora, they are the proud parents of son Christopher and daughter Eleanor — who both labor with them in the ministry of the church, and also are proud grandparents of Andre and Christopher.