Shepherd of the shepherds, Pastor of the people, Soul-winning Evangelist, community leader, missionary, conference speaker and media broadcaster, Bishop William S. Spain is the Founder and Senior Pastor of The Glorious Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he humbly serves God and his community through the ministries he has established. 

Bishop Spain was called to the ministry at the age of fifteen. His roots are at the First Baptist Church of Raleigh, where he learned how to worship and praise God from a young and tender beginning. He was groomed and sat at the feet of men and women of God who poured greatness into him. 

Bishop Spain is a 21st century Apostle of Jesus Christ.  He is a national and international speaker, known for his profound and life changing messages that transcend all barriers of race, gender, age and walks of life for people around the globe. Evangelism and missions are his heartbeat.  A Son of Thunder, practicality and transformation are the hallmarks of his preaching. A mix of theology and the study of temperament models make his message reach the inner sanctums of our beings. It is the prophetic characteristic- tearing down, rooting up, building and planting. God’s forgiveness and sovereignty, and the golden threads of grace and of hope are woven through out the fabric of his preaching, crossing denominational and social lines. Capable of expressing an array of emotion, his voice carries his signature. His vocal chords are the great equalizer that resonate his delivery of the unadulterated truths of the gospel. A songster of hymns and “back to church” spirituals transform the audience as he prepares to entrance the audience with revelation that is powerful and uncompromising. As he opens his bible, he doesn’t just read scripture, he brings it to life. A pioneer in radio and television ministry in North Carolina, thousands have been saved and delivered through his ministry.

A “master builder” Bishop Spain has mastered the art and science of church planting. He has established numerous churches throughout Florida and the Carolinas. His knowledge of church planting, church growth, and leadership is invaluable and essential to the Body of Christ.

Bishop Spain was consecrated to the office of Bishop May 21, 1994. With an undergraduate degree in theology, and a Master of Divinity degree, Bishop Spain received his Doctorate in Ministry on March 29, 1998 from Logos International College and Seminary.

His consistent obedience to God, led him to yet another dimension of service. On May 30, 1998, he founded The International Council of Pentecostal Ministries, Inc. As Presiding Prelate, Bishop Spain has cast the vision for “The Council” as an interdependent, interdenominational, international fellowship of churches and ministries dedicated to perfecting the church and impacting the communities they serve.

With a devotion to church protocol and Divine Order, Bishop Spain is a member of The Joint College of African American Pentecostal Bishops, under the leadership of The Most Reverend J. Delano Ellis, II.

Today he is the spiritual father of the Glorious Church and overseer of churches in North and South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Georgia.  He is the president of the Southeastern Alliance of Bishops and also serves as advisor to the Board of Bishops of Celebration of Praise Ministries.

Passionate about teaching men and women to reach the lost, Bishop Spain’s theme is “Reach Them, Win Them, Teach Them, Send Them.” A man of great faith and true humility, he is one of God’s choicest gifts to us.