About Bishop Gates

Bishop Lambert W. Gates, Sr., was born October 31, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan, to Leroy, Sr., and Elise Gates. Educated in the Detroit Public School system, he graduated with honors at the age of 16 in 1975. He continued his education, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ann Arbor in 1980. Soon after, he began his professional career as a high school English teacher in Detroit.

Bishop Gates was baptized at age 7, and filled with the Holy Ghost on March 28, 1970, at the age of 11, at Clinton Street Greater Bethlehem Temple in Detroit. He joined Apostolic Faith Temple (Now Greater Apostolic Faith Temple [GAFT]) in 1978, cultivating a close relationship with the pastor, Bishop Nemiah Smith, and serving in various positions. During this phase of his ministry he also became established as an evangelist. In 1984, upon becoming an ordained minister of the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith (PCAF), he was appointed assistant pastor at GAFT.

In 1988, Bishop Gates accepted the call to pastor Mt. Zion Apostolic Church in Indianapolis, after the death of its pastor, Bishop James O. Franklin. He was officially installed on December 11. In August 1997, in acknowledgement of his ministerial achievements at the local and national levels, he was consecrated to the office of bishop by the PCAF. In October 2007, he assumed full leadership of GAFT when he was elected senior pastor following the death of Bishop Smith.

Bishop Gates attained his highest office to date when he was consecrated as the assistant presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith at its 2008 national convention in Indianapolis. He is an outstanding teacher of the Word of God, and is a nationally known speaker whose ministry is in constant demand. He is seen internationally through the Internet on Streaming Faith, and in the Detroit and Indianapolis areas on the jointly sponsored Victory through Praise telecast services. In addition, he is heard on radio stations in Detroit and Indianapolis. Bishop Gates and his wife, Nancy, have two sons, Lambert, Jr. and Cameron.