Bishop John M. Borders III

Bishop John M. Borders III serves as senior pastor for Morning Star Baptist Church located in Boston, Massachusetts and has since 1981. He was consecrated to the office of Bishop by the International Bishops Conference in June 2010. He is the author of Unlikely Blessings: Discovering Happiness Through the Life of Joseph (PostHill Press, 2014).

Over 15,000 souls have accepted Christ under Bishop Borders’ ministry and leadership. His ministry is received by individuals from more than twenty countries around the world through online broadcasts on LightSource.com. For thirty years The Beacon Light, a radio broadcast of Salem Communications reached over 50,000 listeners per week.

In 2004, under Bishop Borders’ leadership, Morning Star Baptist Church completed a $12.8 million edifice in the Mattapan section of Boston, the largest church building project by an African American congregation in Boston’s history.

Nearly fifty ministers have been licensed and ordained under Bishop Borders’ tutelage. He currently offers a training program for aspiring ministers. He has worked with local state and government officials in direct response to local gang violence and served for fifteen years as chaplain of Suffolk County Jail. Additionally, he has been instrumental in improving Black and Jewish relations during the 1990s working with organizations like the Anti-Defamation League.

Bishop Borders holds a diploma in Religion from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and furthered his studies at the Boston University School of Theology. He holds Honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida and Maryland Theological Seminary of Baltimore, Maryland. Bishop Borders received a Kellogg Executive Scholars Certificate from The Kellogg Center for Nonprofit Management.

Bishop Borders has been married to First Lady Sandra Elizabeth (McBride) Borders since 1983 and is the proud father of three children and three grandchildren.

(As of September 2021)