Bradford, 56, was unanimously appointed by the Executive Presbytery following the resignation of John M. Palmer Feb. 13 after admitting to ethical misconduct.Bradford will assume the duties of the General Secretary’s office effective immediately. However, he will also continue as pastor of Central Assembly through Easter.
The general secretary maintains information about the denomination's ministers and churches, oversees the chartering of churches and credentialing of ministers and keeps official statistics about the Assemblies of God, which is based in Springfield.Wood said the search for the new general secretary was one “bathed in prayer and conducted with a list of qualities in mind. Included in the list were godly character, respect among ministers and constituency, competency for the office, preaching and communication skills, chemistry with the current executive leadership, ability to connect with young people and leadership skills, among other things — all qualities that were carefully and prayerfully evaluated.”
Bradford, who holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota, grew a small Chi Alpha campus Bible study at the university into a university church. Upon graduation in 1979, he went into full-time ministry with that campus outreach. In 1982, he was ordained by the Minnesota District. He and his family moved to Southern California in 1988 where he pastored Newport-Mesa Christian Center in Orange County. In 2000, the Bradfords moved to Vancouver, B.C., to pastor Broadway Church, and in 2003 he came to Springfield to pastor Central Assembly.
“He is a popular speaker both in the States and abroad,” Wood adds. Bradford works with university student ministries, missionaries and pastoral leadership training. “We pray God’s wisdom and presence on Jim and the family.” Bradford and his wife, Sandi, have two daughters, Meredith and Angeline, both students at Evangel University in Springfield. A video of the chapel introduction of Dr. Bradford as general secretary will be available at http://ag.org/ later this morning.
