Bishop John R. Bryant earned his B.A. in 1965 from Morgan State University, Master of Theology in 1970 from the Boston University School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1975 from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School. 

Known as "the father of Neo-Pentecostalism," Bishop Bryant and his wife, Reverend Dr. Cecilia Williams-Bryant, garnered a reputation for turning St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Cambridge, MA into a "rocking church" because of their support of Pentecostal religious practices.