Pastor Saroya Byrd is Making a Difference on Long Island

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. - April 7, 2015 - PRLog -- Pastor Saroya Byrd McKinney is Founder and Pastor of Gospel of Peace International Ministries where she has served as Pastor for the past ten years. The Church is located at 3161 Royal Ave, Oceanside, New York.  She is Founder/ Executive Director of GOPI HOUSE; a Re-entry and transitional housing facility which provides holistic services of healing and restoration for individuals in crisis, specifically to those returning from the criminal justice system.  She has preached and taught extensively both nationally and internationally in Ghana West Africa, London England, Canada and throughout the United States. As Staff Chaplain at Nassau County Correctional Center, she teaches trains and ministers to over 2,000 men, women and youth the reconciliation of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit utilizing individual and group counseling methods.

She is a graduate of Lehman College from the school of Health Service Administration where she received a Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with departmental honors and was inducted as life member to the Golden Key National Honor Society.  Pastor Byrd continued her secular education at New York Law School where she majored in corporate law specializing in contract negotiation with a minor in entertainment and sports management.  Some of her numerous certifications include domestic violence counseling, CISM training (critical incident stress management counseling) and Evangelism Explosion teacher trainer specializing in world evangelism where she trained leaders globally.  She was awarded the 2009 “Pastors of Distinction” award receiving citations from various local, community and political officials including Mayor Wayne Hall – Mayor of Hempstead, New York, Govenor David A. Patterson – Govenor of New York State and Mayor Michael Bloomberg – Mayor of New York City, along with a host of other endorsements for her work in community activism and spiritual enrichment.

Pastor Byrd received her Pedagogical degree in Theology for teaching from the Mount Carmel Bible College where she taught Evangelism as a faculty member and was most recently awarded an honorary PhD for community service and inducted as Ambassador at Large to the United Nations. She is a graduate of New Greater Bethel Bible Institute where she is completing her Masters of theology degree and pursuing her doctoral degree in Pastoral Care Counseling. The Spiritual mother and mentor to many men & women of God, she believes that we receive power to be witnesses not only in the House of the Lord but throughout the world and the Kingdom of our God.  Most grateful for salvation, she began ministering in song in gospel choirs where she became lead psalmist.  She experienced the resurrection power and baptism of the Holy Spirit and today has a ministry of Prayer, Teaching, Leadership Development and Deliverance.

She is grateful for WISE (Women in Spiritual Excellence) where she serves as Founder/CEO and Chief Mentor providing mentoring, counseling and empowerment services to women nationally primarily to those returning from the criminal justice system and hosts an annual economic & empowerment conference, “Let Her Speak”. Pastor Byrd is a nationally and internationally sought after motivational and transformational speaker and has launched her latest project GOPI Center for Change Family & Children’s Center.  Pastor Byrd stands on Genesis 24:60: “…and they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, ‘Thou art our sister; be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gates of those which hate them.”

About WISE
WISE is a ministry/organization that mentors, counsels, empowers, trains and supports women to attain spiritual excellence in all they do. We provide housing for women returning out of the criminal justice system and other social crisis as well as mentoring them behind prison walls until they reach their God given potential. We reach them by seminars, conferences and social media walking them through their journey to wholeness mentally, spiritually, emotionally and economically.

Follow WISE and GOPI on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/WomenInSpiritualExcellence

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gospel-of-Peace-International