Greater Bethel AME Church

Welcome to our page. Please see our Events page for more information on upcoming February services. Please share with your friends and family.

Family

Rev. Shannon Hilliard is the Pastor of the historic Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lake Placid, Florida, a 501©3 organization. She has multiple years of pastoral experience in the AME Church. She answered her pastoral calling in 1989. She is a widow with three grown children: Rev. JoNathan, Keilah, and Kristen. Each are entrepreneurs. She has four grandchildren: Jonasia, Jyeil, Kirsten, and Christopher.

International Ministry

In 1994, God sent her to South Africa with Bishop Cummings and a delegation of fifty-four people to teach the African people how to use voting equipment. Apartheid had ended and they were going to vote for the first time in four hundred years, the delegation made history. During the flight as the plane was circling over South Africa, God spoke to her and said, “These are my people and this is the mission.” Pastor Hilliard came back to America a changed person with a passion to spread the healing agape love of God to all.

Domestic Ministry

As pastor of Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church she has spiritual oversight of the Food Distribution Ministry which feeds the Highway Park area of Lake Placid. Once a month food is given to the community free of charge to ensure that the elderly and children receive food. Many in the area are food insecure.

Pastor Hilliard is a Registered Nurse and the health of the church members and the community is important to her, especially since the Public Health Dept. shutdown their health outreach programs. She has conducted quarterly Community Health Fairs in which ten vendors came to do various health screenings for the community under the melodious music of a DJ and grilled food to eat on site or take home.

Greater Bethel also offers church breakfast, Bible Discovery Hour, Worship, Bible Study, and Corporate Prayer. She has a vision for the church and community to revitalize it.

Education

Pastor Hilliard has a Master’s of Science in Nursing in Healthcare Administration and a Master’s of Business Administration. She is currently in her final semester of studies at Asbury Theological Seminary as a candidate for the Master’s of Divinity degree. Pastor Hilliard also holds a current R.N. license.