Pastor Gerald E. Bell is a preacher who espouses the love of Christ while promoting a faith that will move mountains. His message is one of Social Impact, Self-development and Biblical Guidance.  He is Pastor and founder of the Strong Tower Church which was established in May 2006.

Issues in economic development, social justice, and religious freedom have been a large part of Pastor Bell’s life. In July 2001, Pastor Bell was part of a group working with the Christian Solidarity International of Zurich, Switzerland (CSI), which redeemed the lives of more than 6,700 slaves in South Sudan. He currently serves on the Board of CSI-USA. He also led a delegation of Pastors to Ghana, West Africa in 2004 to teach in the Baptist Seminary and to help build a vocational school.

He attended the Harvard Divinity School as a Merrill Fellow during the fall 2005. While at Harvard Divinity School, Pastor Bell, as a HDS Field Education Supervisor, spent much of his time developing the private, non-profit “Put Faith to Work.” He also served as Director of Community Service Programs from May 2007-2015 in the State Department of Housing and Economic Development.

He is the former pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in West Medford and the former chair of the Economic Development Committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston.

Pastor Bell’s background combines over thirty years of commercial banking experience with housing, inner city ministry and a deep passion for home ownership and economic development. He served as Chair of the Community Board of Directors for the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury MA. In addition for 10 years he Pastored the historic Shiloh Baptist Church in West Medford, MA.

In May 2007, Governor Deval Patrick appointed Pastor Bell to the Department of Housing and Economic Development, where he served as Director of the Community Services Programs until May 2015. Pastor Bell has extensive experience in lending and project development. He is the former chair of the Economic Development Committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, one of the nation’s leading African-American leadership organizations.

Pastor Bell was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and spent his formative years in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Tennessee State University. He holds a Master of Theology from Andover Newton Theological School.