Our Pastor and Staff

Rev George O.  Stewart

Pastor

Reverend Dr. George O. Stewart, a native of Mt. Pleasant, Georgia, is the son of the late Rev. & Mrs. Arthur W. Stewart.  He attended Savannah State College and Moody Bible College.  He served his country in the U. S. Army during the Korean War (1953-1955).

He came to Cleveland in 1955 and was married to Mrs. D. Lorraine Stewart for 55 years before her transition to glory in November 2012.  They are the parents of three (3) lovely daughters, Carolyn, Tonya and Kimberly; and the grandparents of four (4), Rosalyn, Gerald, Andrea, and Isaiah.

Rev. Stewart really wanted to be an industrial education teacher - but that is proof that God has a plan for us, whether we recognize it at first or not. He followed three of his brothers to Cleveland and obtained a job at Republic Steel and after being laid off obtained a job at Swiss Labs and managed that plant for 20 years.

Rev. Stewart answered the voice of God and entered the Ministry in 1968. He was called to Pastor Zion Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in June 1969, and has proven to be a great spiritual and inspirational leader for the church and the community, as well as an Evangelistic Teacher nationwide.

Along with his pastoral duties and many, many Bible Classes, Pastor  Stewart  held office in the  Northern Ohio Baptist District Association Congress of Christian Education as President;  He served on the Board of Directors for the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA) as well as their past Secretary Treasurer and is currently an active member for over 28 years. He is the Treasurer for  the Baptist Pastors’ Council and the National Missionary Baptist Association of Ohio; and The Chief Executive Officer of  The Lee/Miles Ministerial Alliance, that serves the Southeast area with food distribution.  Pastor Stewart serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Ministerial Day Care Association.  He served on the Board of Trustees for the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.  He is an active member of the Minister’s Educational Network in our community, adopting schools of John F. Kennedy High School and Charles W. Eliot Middle School. He continues to have over five Bible classes per week at Zion Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor has partnered with the Individuals Stepping Out Against Breast Cancer to make the congregation aware of breast cancer.

Pastor Stewart received a plaque for demonstrating leadership in the Community from the Mayor’s Office, the Fourth District Police Community Affairs Unit, the Youth Empowerment Group and recently he received an award from the Northern Ohio Baptist District Association for being the Pastor of a Church that is truly practicing and teaching Evangelism in the community and the church. Pastor Stewart was invited by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge to give the invocation for the 2013 Black Caucus in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Pastor Stewart was the proud recipient of the Pastor of the Year Award at the 15th Annual Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 2019, Pastor Stewart was named Senior of the Year by Ward 1 in Cleveland, Ohio.

With his busy schedule, he still finds time to exercise, do repairs around the church and there is little time left to enjoy his hobbies of – Bowling – Fishing – and Golfing.

Pastor’s love and service in the community and the congregation is consistent with the teaching of God and it is visible in his life of love and service for the community and the church.