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Our Founder

Bishop Quincy Lavelle Carswell

Bishop Quincy Lavelle Carswell was the son of the late Elijah and Othessa Carswell. He was the youngest of five siblings (Celestine, Sandra, John and Quintina). Bishop Carswell was born on February, 4, 1953 in Miami, Florida raised in Miami (Dade County), Florida. He was a twin to Quintina LaJune and they were born on their mother’s birthday. In 1968, the family moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Bishop Carswell graduated from the Mount Pleasant High School in Providence. He was raised and nurtured in the Church of God. Bishop Carswell felt the “call” of God on his life at the young age of eight years and has endeavored to fulfill the “Great Commission” of our Lord by carrying “the Gospel of Jesus Christ” across the length and breadth of this nation and abroad. He was a highly requested Preacher and Lecturer and was often featured in National Conventions, Crusades and Conferences.

Bishop Carswell holds degrees from Bethune-Cookman College (now Bethune-Cookman University), Daytona Beach, Florida; a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia and a Doctor of Ministry from the University of California.

Out of all of his accomplishments and associations, Bishop Carswell’s proudest and most cherished role was that of a family man. He was married and devoted to the love of his life, his best friend and confidant, Lady Gwendolyn Jones Carswell for 39 years. He was the proud father of two children - Quinae’ Aresia and Quincy Lavelle, II. The joy of his life was his three beautiful grandchildren – Matthew, Miya, and Quincy, III. According to Bishop Carswell, the “wind beneath his wings” was his family.

In 1982, Bishop Carswell was named by the Reverend Jesse Jackson as the First President of the Atlanta Chapter of Operation PUSH; hosting the largest national convention in PUSH history. He also served as one of the national strategists and leaders for the 1984 and 1988 Presidential bids of the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Bishop Carswell pastored the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta for seventeen (17) years (1975 – 1992). Prior to his acceptance of the pastorate at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Bishop Carswell worked at the historic Butler Street YMCA. There, he met and was under the tutelage of his long-time mentor, DeWitt N. Martin, Jr. Bishop Carswell was the Coordinator of the Hungry Club Forum and the YMCA’s First Citywide Youth Revival. On July 4, 1993, Bishop Carswell founded and organized the Covenant Baptist Church and Ministries, which today is one of the fastest growing Ministries in Metropolitan Atlanta, the State of Georgia and the Nation. In a 2005 article, the Atlanta Journal Constitution cited Bishop Carswell as “one of Atlanta’s most effective and influential Pastors -A Minister that is touching the Lost, the Least, and the Left-out; and making an unparalleled impact across this nation.”
He was consecrated to the sacred office of Bishop on February 4, 2001, and became the President and CEO of Quincy Carswell Ministries, Inc. Bishop Carswell captivated congregations across the world for more than half of a century. In December 2019 he celebrated 44 years as a Pastor to God’s people. In the words of Bishop Carswell – he had 99 problems, but preachin’ wasn’t one!
He held the distinction and honor of being a 1995 and 2015 inductee into the Morehouse College Board of Distinguished Preachers, Sponsors and Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA. He was also a recipient of the highly acclaimed Benjamin E. Mays Award, given annually in Atlanta for outstanding religious, community and social activism. In 1997, Bishop Carswell received the Butler Street YMCA Service Award and in 1999, he received the Phoenix Award from the City of Atlanta. On November 4, 2000, Bishop Carswell was presented the Community Service Award by the Eta Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. The Atlanta Association of Educators presented Bishop Carswell with the American Education Services Award in 2001. In 2006, Bishop was named One of the World’s Most Loved Pastors. In December of 2015, he was honored by Mayor Kasim reed for making “an everlasting impact on the countless people he has served through ministry. Through more than five decades of work in the ministry, Bishop Carswell has made an indelible mark on the City of Atlanta.”
On June 29, 2019, he was recognized at the 25th Annual Gospel Choice Music Awards and was the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. He was featured in many printed publications including the Jet (1983) and Ebony Magazine (1985) and in 2004, Bishop Carswell and the Covenant Church were featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution for the ministry’s ability to reach the lost and make a difference in the local community.

Bishop Carswell traveled extensively in and out of the United States. He was chosen by the Association of Colleges and Universities for International and Intercultural Studies (A.C.U.I.I.S.) to be the “Scholar in Residence” at the University of Austria in 1972. As the Scholar in Residence, Bishop Carswell traveled to Austria, Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia; and he visited the Holy Land studying the Word. He often shared “My role, as I see it, is to make the Master’s Kingdom a reality on Earth. I can’t help myself; like Jeremiah, it’s just like fire shut up in my bones!”

Bishop Carswell leaves to cherish his memory his devoted wife, Lady Gwendolyn Jones Carswell; son Elder Quincy Lavelle Carswell, II (Dr. April LaSha), daughter, Quinae’ Aresia Ford (Elder Marques L’Mar); Grandchildren, Matthew Alexander and Miya Allison Ford and Quincy Lavelle Carswell, III; two sisters, Sandra Carswell and Quintina Robinson (Melvin); one brother, Elder John Carswell; Mentor, DeWitt N. Martin, Jr. (Ann); special Cousin, Ann Broughton; special Godsons, DeWitt, III and DeWayne Martin; special Goddaughter, Angel Clifton; special sisters, Pam Scott, Bessie Poole and Martha Jean Feagin; and a host of other relatives, friends, and beloved Covenant Partners.
I've got 99 problems, but preachin' ain't one of them!

HIGHLIGHTS of Bishop Carswell

1953

Bishop Carswell was born on February, 4, 1953 in Miami, Florida raised in Miami (Dade County), Florida. He was a twin to Quintina LaJune and they were born on their mother’s birthday.

1993

On July 4, 1993, Bishop Carswell founded the Covenant Baptist Church and Ministries, which today is one of the fastest growing Ministries in Metropolitan Atlanta, the State of Georgia and the Nation.

2001

Bishop Carswell was consecrated to the sacred office of Bishop on February 4, 2001, and became the President of Quincy Carswell Ministries, Inc.

2019

In December 2019, Bishop Carswell celebrated 44 years as a Pastor to God’s people and 58 years as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
REVELATION 14:13 KJV