David K. Bernard

General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International (elected October 2009; in office since 2010; reelected September 2025)

Seventh General Superintendent in UPCI history, succeeding Kenneth F. Haney

Chair of the Global Council of the UPCI, the church's international fellowship (ex officio as General Superintendent)

Chancellor of Urshan University

Professor of Biblical Studies and Apostolic Leadership, Urshan Graduate School of Theology

Founding president of Urshan Graduate School of Theology (chosen January 2000; founding faculty installed August 2001) and of the combined Urshan system through January 2018

Founding pastor of New Life Church, Austin, Texas (1992-2010); now a pastoral advisor to the church, which styles him Bishop Bernard

Superintendent of the South Texas District, UPCI (from 2002, per his PraBook biographical entry; held concurrently at his 2009 election)

Presbyter, Texas District Board, UPCI (from 1995, per PraBook)

Teacher and administrator, Jackson College of Ministries, Jackson, Mississippi (from 1981)

Founding Pastor, New Life Church, Austin — 1992–2011

Bishop, New Life Church, Austin — as published 2023

Chairman/President, National Apostolic Christian Leadership Conference — current as published, no dates stated

President, Urshan Graduate School of Theology (founding president) — chosen January 2000

Chancellor, Urshan University — current as published

Ministry

1956: born November 20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to UPCI ministers Elton D. and Loretta Bernard
Age 7: baptized in Jesus' name and received the Holy Ghost (his own testimony)
1965: moved to South Korea with his parents, the pioneer UPCI missionaries to Korea; raised there through his teens, with one furlough year in Baton Rouge
At 17: returned to the United States alone to attend Rice University in Houston
1980: received a definite call to preach at the end of the summer before his final year of law school (his own account)
1981: graduated from the University of Texas School of Law, passed the Texas bar, received UPCI ministerial license, married Connie, began full-time ministry at Jackson College of Ministries, and published his first book, In Search of Holiness
1987: named Writer of the Year by Word Aflame Press (PraBook)
1992: founded New Life Church in Austin, Texas, with his wife Connie; the church grew from zero to over one thousand during his eighteen-year pastorate, and sixteen additional churches were started under his leadership
2000-2001: chosen founding president of Urshan Graduate School of Theology; the school opened and its founding faculty were installed in August 2001
2009: elected General Superintendent of the UPCI at the 85th General Conference in St. Louis (announced October 2009)
2010: UPCI dates his superintendency from this year; he stepped down from the full-time pastorate at New Life Austin; UGST received full accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools
2012: as Urshan system president, led UGST's acquisition of Gateway College of Evangelism (completed July 1, 2012), forming Urshan College
2015: earned the Doctor of Theology in New Testament from the University of South Africa
2018-2019: resigned as Urshan system president (January 2018); Brent Coltharp became president (January 2019); Bernard continued as Chancellor and professor
2025: reelected General Superintendent at General Conference in St. Louis (September 2025); on completing his current term in December, he becomes the second-longest-serving general superintendent in UPCI history (UPCI)
Hosts the teaching podcast Apostolic Life in the 21st Century

Family in ministry

Wife: Connie Bernard (married 1981); she co-founded New Life Church, Austin, with him in 1992
Son: Jonathan D. Bernard, UPCI minister and pastor of Hope Family Fellowship, Georgetown, Texas; his wife Sara is also a credentialed UPCI minister
Son: Daniel K. Bernard (wife: Kalee)
Daughter: Lindsey Bernard (husband: Cullen)
Three children and eight grandchildren (UPCI, current bio); grandchildren named in family obituaries include Elijah, Adelle, and Rylynn Bernard, children of Jonathan and Sara
Father: Elton David Bernard (November 21, 1930 - March 8, 2017), UPCI minister; with Loretta, pioneer UPCI missionary to Korea for twenty years (1965-1985), establishing twenty-two churches, a Bible college, and three U.S. military fellowships
Mother: Loretta Artigue Bernard (December 27, 1931 - September 8, 2016), UPCI minister and missionary; co-author with David of In Search of Holiness (1981); afterward co-pioneered churches in Gonzales, Louisiana
Sisters: Karen Bernard Hatcher (husband Charles R. Hatcher III) and Julie Bernard Celey (husband Johnny Celey)

Books & writings (28)

…and 16 more in the Repository.