[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 141 (Friday, August 6, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING PASTOR CHAD D. BRYANT

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 6, 2021

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
dedicated community leader, an outstanding Man of God, and a dear 
friend of longstanding, Pastor Chad D. Bryant who is retiring and 
celebrating his 40th anniversary as the distinguished pastor of Mount 
Pleasant Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. An anniversary worship 
service will be held on Sunday, August 8, 2021 at 3 p.m. at the church 
located at 3601 Yeomans Street in Columbus, Georgia.
  A native son of Columbus, Georgia, Pastor Chad D. Bryant was born to 
the late William Bryant, Sr. and Mattie Bryant. Pastor Bryant began his 
Christian journey after accepting Jesus at the age of 8. At the age of 
16, he confessed a calling to the preaching ministry and by 18, he was 
ordained--all of which happened under the tutelage of the late Reverend 
C.C. Cloud of New Providence Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia. 
Pastor Bryant received his grade school education in the public schools 
of Columbus, Georgia before graduating from Spencer High School in 
1974. He then went on to attend Morris Brown College, where he studied 
Sociology with an emphasis in Psychology. He also received a 
certificate in Church Administration and the Old and New Testaments 
from the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Columbus, Georgia.
  In addition to being the beloved pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist 
Church and a founding active member of the Fellowship Missionary 
Baptist Convention of Georgia, Inc., he has also served as Assistant 
Pastor of Galilee Baptist Church; Associate Minister of Greater 
Beallwood and New Providence Baptist Churches in Columbus Georgia; a 
former instructor of the American Baptist College Extension Center; 
Assistant Director-General and Director-General for the Congress of 
Christian Education; and President and Dean of the Fourth District 
Congress of Christian Education under the General Missionary Baptist 
Convention of Georgia, Inc.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Pastor 
Bryant has gone far in life because his everlasting faith in the Lord 
is a vivid testimony of His greatness to all whom he encounters. His 
love and commitment to Christ are reflected in his compassionate and 
considerate leadership, which makes him a guiding light within the 
community. He is a humble man who always puts himself in the shoes of 
others. It has been said that, ``The true person of success is not the 
person that climbs the ladder of this life with one hand, but climbs 
the ladder of this life with two hands and reaches back with the 
other.'' Pastor Bryant has always climbed the ladder of life with an 
eye towards helping others to reach their full potential, both 
spiritually and socially.
  On a personal level, Pastor Bryant has been a friend and supporter 
for many, many years, and his friendship, advice, and counsel have 
always been valued by me. I am grateful and honored to be able to call 
him my friend.
  Today I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with 
the congregation of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, and the more than 
730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District in 
honoring and commending Pastor Chad D. Bryant on his outstanding career 
and upon the occasion of his retirement. We wish him well as he begins 
a new chapter in his life.

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