Dr Bolt was born in the Parish of Saint Ann, Jamaica, and became a Christian in 1970. He knew that he had a calling on his life and that God would use him in a very specific and meaningful way as he grew in his faith and committed his life to Christ. Dr Bolt, along with his late brother, Bishop Lawford Bolt and their sister Florence, were baptised at the same time and this was an important moment in his life when he knew that he would fervently serve the LORD and go wherever God would lead him. Dr Bolt answered the call to spread the gospel through preaching and as an evangelist in Jamaica in 1974. It was soon after this in 1976 that Dr Bolt immigrated to the UK where he met and married his beautiful wife Joycelyne.

Dr Bolt has served in the ministry for many years and began his career in ministry by qualifying as an exhorter in 1977. He went on to study and train to become a licensed minister in 1979 and an Ordained Bishop in 1991. Throughout his journey to becoming National Overseer, Dr Bolt studied theology at Overstone College, where he graduated with a Diploma in Theology with Distinction. 

Dr Bolt was an active minister for many years, being appointed as pastor to churches from 1979 through to 2003. He secured his first senior pastoral appointment from 1981 to 1988 at the NTCG in Trowbridge. Dr Bolt grew into the role and was extremely effective in serving his congregation, guiding members in understanding scripture, leading in worship and serving as a role model to aspiring church leaders and the community. Dr Bolt continued to develop in ministry and he was called to become the Senior Pastor of the NTCG in Oxford from 1988 to 2003.Dr Bolt was promoted to Senior Pastor and District Overseer of the NTCG in Aldershot from 2003 to 2009. He went on to become the National Secretary/Treasurer for the NTCG in England and Wales from 2009 to 2014 before his appointment as Administrative Bishop and Regional Superintendent in England and Wales in 2014. He held the role as Administrative Bishop until August 2022.

As part of his path to ministry, Dr Bolt attended a number of leadership and management training courses, which enabled him to grow in his knowledge and understanding of leadership, bringing to the role of National Overseer the ability to lead with integrity, authority and an unwavering determination to make a positive impact on the lives of the members and the wider community. Dr Bolt was awarded an honorary doctorate from Sheffield State University, Ohio, USA.

One of Dr. Bolt’s fundamental beliefs is that the Church should reflect the make-up of the society in which it seeks to minister. Indeed, Dr Bolt’s biblical worldview is underpinned by the notion that there is power in the Word of God, which when embraced can significantly change people’s lives. 

Dr Bolt has always been visionary. In his role as Senior Pastor, he had a vision foreach of the churches that he led, and shared these with his congregants, clearly identifying and setting goals for realising his vision. He is known for his passion for developing others and during his time as a Senior Pastor he was proactive in counselling his congregants to help them develop in their Christian faith and connect with God. Dr Bolt knew that he was called to preach the gospel, to teach, lead and shepherd his flock as well as providing pastoral care, creating a climate of unity, providing leadership and spiritual guidance so as to encourage and support his members to serve God wholeheartedly.

Dr. Bolt is considered to be a leader of leaders and is actively engaged in the formative and continual development of ministers as a mentor. He has had the privilege of preaching in many countries around the world.

Dr Bolt was instrumental in the implementation of contracts of employment for all ministers in the NTCG. Prior to 2007, ministers of religion, operating in churches, were classified as being ordained and elected by God and, therefore, their appointment was considered a vocation. However, a landmark case in an industrial tribunal, ruled that ministers of religion had employment status. As a result of that ruling, NTCG was required to issue contracts of employment to all its ministers. This was presided over by Dr Bolt in 2010 when he served as National Secretary/Treasurer, under the leadership of Dr. Eric Brown. 

In addition to the introduction of contracts of employment, on 1st April 2012, the government introduced the work-based pension scheme. Under the leadership of Dr. Brown and Dr. Bolt, NTCG ensured that all employees that met the government criteria were given the opportunity to register and join the scheme. The work-based pension scheme has been a success and will ensure a better future for NTCG employees in their future retirement.

The Engine Room

The Engine Room has come to be seen as a significant feature of NTCG, allowing members to gather together to have fellowship by listening to the Word, testifying of God’s goodness of healing, protection and comfort during challenging times in the lives of believers. It was birthed through Dr Bolt’s vision, mission, purpose and belief that prayer is a key spiritual discipline that drives the Church.

The Engine Room was launched in 2014 and was jointly overseen and delivered by both Bishop and Sister Bolt. Through both Dr and Sister Bolt’s leadership of The Engine Room, churches attended the Head Office on a monthly basis and engaged in worship and prayer. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, when lockdowns were imposed and churches ceased to open their doors for face-to-face attendance, The Engine Room transitioned online. This allowed even more brethren to gather, which extended its reach to over 500 people joining at any one time, showing Dr and Sister Bolt’s commitment and high levels of foresight in bringing together God’s people in this way, fostering worship and fellowship despite the challenges of lockdowns. 

The Legacy of Overstone Park – Northampton 

An arson attack on Overstone Park, in the spring of 200 had caused a fire that destroyed 70-90% of the Main House. As a Grade II listed building, the local Daventry District Council and Heritage Commission held the view that Overstone Park has architectural value for the nation and insisted that NTCG had to restore the building to its original state and maintain the grounds around it. Moreover, once the National Office had moved to Cheyne Walk, Overstone Park was left virtually unoccupied and, as a result, vandals destroyed most of the property. With the threat of a compulsory purchase order of £1 from the local council, Dr Bolt and the national leadership took the decision to sell the property. Under Dr Bolt’s leadership, the team were successful in finding a buyer, which resulted in the sale of Overstone Park for just under £1 million. This was a huge success for NTCG and without the sale of Overstone Park, the Church would have incurred even further costs.

System Changes

Dr Bolt oversaw a number of significant changes whilst in office as Administrative Bishop. For example, in May 2018, the Data Protection Act 2018 came into effect, introducing significant changes that would affect all organisations that hold personal data. As a medium-sized UK organisation, NTCG in England and Wales was legally bound by this legislation and required to make some major changes to how it captured, managed and stored information not only on its employees but any clients and partners. To ensure NTCG met the requirements of this new legislation, Dr Bolt provided essential leadership that involved the appointment of a Data Protection Officer and implemented procedures that showed the Church was compliant in holding and storing personal data. Through this process and the meticulous work of members of the team leading this initiative, NTCG obtained IASME certification in May 2018 and continues to comply with the regulations in the area of Data Protection. 

Another significant change implemented under Dr Bolt’s leadership included the move to NTCG Senior Pastors being allocated staff corporate email addresses so that all correspondence would include the use of corporate emails rather than personal ones. Moreover, NTCG was transformed across the organisation after investing in data management facilities to effectively manage the storage of personal data and avoiding paper-based records.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to an unprecedented standstill and the Church had to quickly respond by adopting new ways of delivering services and events. For the first time, churches were forced to close, with members instructed to refrain from in-person gatherings, causing many to feel fragmented and at a loss as to what to do. In the history of NTCG, church closures on a mass scale were unheard of and never experienced in the past.

It was a hugely troubling time for society and members of the church, causing many to feel unsettled, concerned about the future and bewildered. However, Dr Bolt provided efficacious leadership at the time, navigating through the challenges of church closures, the systematic changes to COVID-19 regulations and the move to virtual online gatherings. 

Under Dr Bolt’s leadership a number of events were delivered virtually, including the National Convention, in July 2021; the Annual General Meeting in 2021; The Engine Room; all National Executive Council meetings and some departmental meetings. Dr Bolt praised all the pastors, ministers and different departments for their efforts and the way in which they adapted to the changing times, ensuring that the churches’ ministries continued to flourish. He recognised that many churches were creative in their approach to the new way of delivering online services, including continuing to offer communion, engaging its members in webinars and online training, as well as using the time to reach out to the community to meet the needs of those members, who were shielding and those members of the community, who were struggling to make ends meet. As a result, the church provided a sense of stability, comfort and support to many people at a painful time when people felt a sense of loss, separation and isolation. In addition to NTCG churches across England and Wales delivering online services and meeting the needs of its congregants, the National Creative Arts Ministries, which was established before the pandemic, was utilised to lift the spirits of people, providing recorded worship songs during lockdowns. They were also instrumental in delivering the Virtual National Convention in July 2021. 

Furthermore, during the pandemic, Dr Bolt felt the need to call together some of the major Black church leaders in England and Wales to gather for prayer, to strategise, to support each other, to consider the best use of human and financial resources to support others during the crisis, and to influence government policies, etc. As a result, the Black Leader Churches Leadership Forum (BLCLF) was formed, and the first meeting was held in 2020. The forum included leaders from the Church of God of Prophecy, New Testament Assembly, Bethel United Apostolic Church of JesusChrist and New Testament Church of God (NTCG).

Dr Bolt was instrumental in amalgamating the Good News Church in Romford, in Essex with the NTCG branch, which is also based in Essex. In addition, The Beautiful Gate Church in Bradford was also amalgamated with NTCG to form a new church in the Bradford region.

What is more, in 2018 Dr Bolt led a team of individuals on a mission trip to Ghana to evaluate the extent of the work required to reach the lost in the country. 

The main aim of the mission was to see how NTCG could assist in the missionary programmes and to  further strengthen the Church. NTCG had sent missionaries to Ghana in the late 1960s and early 1970s to establish the Church. Although the Church of God in Ghana now selects and appoints their own leaders, the connection with the Church in England and Wales remains strong. Following the visit to Ghana, under Dr Bolt’s leadership, a donation of £13,000 was given to the Church to assist in building new office facilities to further develop the work, which had begun back in the 1970s. 

Lastly, Dr Bolt considers it an honour to have served the NTCG in England and Wales for over forty-five years in various capacities, along with his wife Joycelyne. Now retired, he is spending more time with his family; lending his support to mentoring some of the younger ministers and supporting the leadership of the Church and leaders within and beyond the denomination, wherever required.