Bishop James Pullings, Jr.

and

First Lady Esther R. Pullings

Bishop James Pullings, Jr.

Bishop James Pullings, Jr. is the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Eastern New York and pastor of Historic Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ, New York, NY.  A veteran having served in the Vietnam War, Bishop Pullings is a man of many accomplishments.  He completed two years of study at Manhattan Community College and York College.  Additionally, he attended Bethel Bible Institute and the O.M. Kelly Religious Institute while holding a supervisory position within the United States Postal Service in Queens, New York.

Bishop Pullings served as the Superintendent of the Azusa District in the Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in New York from 1999 until 2003.  In 2003, he was appointed District Superintendent of the Burns Memorial District in the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction COGIC by Bishop James Gaylord. His love and concern for everyone also led to his appointment in 2006 as Commissioner of the Missions Department for the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.  A humanitarian, God’s guidance led Bishop Pullings to serve the community of South Ozone Park through the food program he named, “Five Loaves & Two Fish”.  This program has served more than one million family meals to the residents since 1994.

During the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Bishop Pullings worked diligently with displaced survivors, providing food, clothing, and humanitarian needs while they temporarily resided in Queens, NY hotels, and secured safe housing and employment to those who remained in New York. He was featured in Spike Lee’s HBO documentary, “When the Levees Broke-Acts 3 & 4”.  Because of Bishop Pullings’ sustained work in the humanities, in January 2010 he was appointed as Disaster Relief Coordinator for COGIC Charities by Bishop Charles E. Blake, former Presiding Bishop of the Churches of God in Christ.

Additionally, Bishop Pullings was assigned the task of structuring the official COGIC tactical and administrative response to the earthquake-devastated country of Haiti.  He opened an emergency clinic in a church to serve the immediate needs of the people.  Later, he facilitated the purchase of land and supplies to build a compound that  included a two-story girl’s orphanage, a medical clinic and space to house visiting missionaries.  Soon after the completion of this great work, Bishop Pullings was awarded the first “Presiding Bishop’s Gold Award” for the work achieved in Haiti, the highest award issued from the Office of the Bishop.  In 2013, Bishop Pullings was tasked with making repair assessments and recommendations to then Presiding Bishop Blake and the General Board for twenty East Coast churches in Long Island, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut which suffered property loss and damage caused by flooding and winds during Hurricane Sandy. 

Bishop Pullings also served as 3rd Vice President for New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), a 501(c)(3) faith-based federation of service providers and charitable organizations that work in partnership to provide disaster readiness, response, and recovery services to New York City.

In 2020, Bishop became the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Eastern New York #1, succeeding Bishop O.M. Kelly, Bishop F.D. Washington, Bishop Ithiel C. Clemmons, and Bishop James H. Gaylord.  After having founded the Leviticus Church of God in Christ in 1990 and serving as pastor for 33 years, Bishop Pullings became the pastor of the Historic Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in July 2023.  

 In December 2024, Bishop Pullings had the honor of baptizing actor and philanthropist, Denzel Washington, and presented him with his ministerial license in the Church of God in Christ, allowing him to study and pursue his desire to become an ordained preacher.

 Bishop Pullings currently resides in the Addisleigh Park section of Queens, New York. He has been married to the lovely Evangelist Esther Renee Burns Pullings for fifty-three years.  They are the proud parents of five beautiful children, eighteen grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.