Bishop Monroe R Saunders Snr

From the book

Just as the scriptures speak of ‘James and John’, ‘Mary and Martha’, and ‘Paul and Silas’, it is impossible to speak the name Dunn and not also call the name Saunders. For, Monroe R Saunders Snr was the first presiding bishop for the First United Church of Jesus Christ, the organisation that preceded Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic (UK), and which continues to this day. At the helm of this organisation, from the 1960s to the 1990s, were two brothers: Dunn a Jamaican and Saunders an American, bonded by the unity of the Holy Spirit. Together, they accomplished great exploits for God.

Bishop Saunders was not just a highly spiritual man, he was also an exceptional mind and a highly intellectual person, proving that God can indeed use baptised brains. For example, the young Saunders graduated in the top 1% of his class (Mullings, 2017). He would go on to earn a Doctorate in Theology. He was an advocate for education, always pushing those under his tutelage to aim high and used his learning to edify the saints (Mullings, 2017). Notably, Bishop Saunders graduated from the iconic Howard University School of Divinity.

A key learning of the partnership between Bishops Saunders and Dunn is the power of cross-cultural ministry. Here we had an American and a Jamaican uniting to further the ministry in Britain. God's vision for His church is truly global.