About Us
Bishop Willie Bruce, Jr. — Pastor
The path of Willie E. Bruce, Jr. was truly ordered in the Lord from early childhood. He is one of six children born to devout Christians in New Orleans, Louisiana. The cornerstone of his religious foundation was put in place as he accompanied his parents who worshiped and sought ways daily to serve the Lord. His mother, Bertha Bruce (deceased), had an active Music Ministry. His father, Willie E. Bruce, Sr., served and continues to serve as Chairman of the Deacon and Trustee Board at Union Baptist Church, Brusly, West Baton Rouge, and on several other church committees. Pastor Bruce joined the Junior and Senior choirs, and gave freely of his time and talents to church activities.
He answered the call to civic duty. At the completion of his High School education, Pastor Bruce joined the United States Air Force in which he served honorably for 25 years. But even as he gave to his country, he continued to seek ways to give to God while on assignments. In Germany he served as Lay Reader in the Protestant Chapel at Hahn and Bitburg ABS Military Bases. In San Antonio, Texas, he became active in Bethel United Methodist Church. In addition to his ministry in the young adult and adult choirs, he served as lay reader, a member of the Methodist Men, and on numerous other church committees including the financial and building committees on which he held recognized positions.
In 1991, Bishop Bruce returned to civilian life. He made his home in the Washington metropolitan area to be close to his three sons, Charles, Reginald and Darrell Bruce. He began a new career with the Federal Government. He is currently a Program Analyst at the Department of Energy. He also completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems at the University of Maryland, University College.
Never failing to seek opportunities to order his steps in the Word, Bishop Bruce became affiliated with Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, which he joined in 1992. He served in the Adult Choir under the leadership of Rev. Donald Vails (deceased). He also assisted Ebenezer's "Music is Our Ministry" program in the design and execution of its computerized relational databases.
Eventually submitting, he accepted the plan that God undoubtedly had for his Christian life. Bishop Bruce answered the call to the Ministry in 1998. He matriculated for a Masters of Divinity at Howard University School of Divinity, and was ordained in October 1999. He carried out his internship at Hemmingway AME Church and Ft. Foote Baptist Church, Ft. Washington, Maryland. There, as an Associate Minister, he held the positions of Administrative Assistant to the Pastor; President Elect of the Ministerial Board, Director of the Senior Saints Ministry, and New Testament Bible Study teacher. He is as an Interim Pastor at Thomas House, Continuing Care Facility, Washington, DC. He served as Chairman of the Board of Mercy Outreach Ministries, International, Inc. that provides assistance to churches in Haiti. He is an active international missionary with keen interest in Jamaica, Uganda, and Lesotho, countries to which he travels. He takes care of the financial and spiritual needs of a church in rural Uganda. Bishop Bruce and his wife, Rev. Dr. Heather Bruce, also founded Word Healing Outreach Ministries, Inc., (WHOM, I) -- a Bible-based, service-oriented, inter-denominational church of which he is the Senior Pastor. Bishop Bruce testifies that he continues to be in awe of the transformative power of God that consistently yet gently shifts his focus from mine to THINE.
Rev. Dr. Heather Bruce
Lifelong devotion to God and a heart full of warmth, love and compassion best characterize Heather Magdeline Bruce, a native Trinidadian. They are the qualities that led her parents, devout Christians Horace and Emelian Jennings (deceased), to believe that she-the seventh of their ten children-was destined to be a nun, or other minister in God's army. She was baptized, confirmed, and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior at an early age. Her Christian foundation was further strengthened during her education at St. Joseph's Convent, where she soon became active in fundraising and benevolent acts aimed at making a difference in the lives of the less-fortunate.
Of significance to her current position as Director of Missions were the invaluable opportunities for multiculturalism that her practical experiences afforded her. During the 6 years she resided in London, Dr. Bruce traveled extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Her 25-year career with an international development organization, The World Bank Group, provided her the opportunity to visit and work in several countries and to forge relationships with people from various other cultures. She is also conversant with the practical and theoretical claims of the development discourse, its models of induced intervention, and its contemporary notions of sustainability, capacity building, and participation-concepts that are important to the ideology of poverty alleviation. Teaching graduate level courses at a number of local universities (University of Maryland, George Mason University, Strayer University, and Florida Institute of Technology) has further equipped this anthropological humanitarian for the charge of the Great Commission to "go, baptize, and teach" (Matt. 28:19).
Vocation for ministry and mission work is augmented with educational training. Dr. Bruce holds a Bachelor of Science in Technology and Management, University of Maryland; a Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Sciences, (Leadership, Management and Organization Development majors), Johns Hopkins University; a Master of Arts in Human and Organization Systems, Fielding Graduate University, and a Doctor of Philosophy, Human Development, Fielding Graduate University. She is a Johns Hopkins Fellow in Change Management and a graduate of Johns Hopkins Leadership Development Program. She is also a member elect of Alpha Sigma Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies, and an ordained Minister.
Equipped to build capacities and make a sustainable difference in the lives of the less fortunate, Dr. Bruce is an ordained Minister. She accepted God's call to ministry in 2003, and pledged to devote her life to using her God-given knowledge and resources for His work. The Co-Founder of Word Healing Outreach Ministries, Inc., she serves as Missions Director and Moderator on the Board of Directors. She traveled to Uganda in 2003, conducted a fact-finding mission to Tanzania and Uganda, in mid-2005 and was one of the members on the November 2005, and November 2007 missions to Mbale, Uganda. Her development work in Moruga, Trinidad continues to influence transformative change at the grassroots community level. Minister Dr. Bruce is dynamic, compelled by her love for God, with a heart for His people. Yet, she is humble with a servant's will, and considers all that she does to be simply a ministry of LOVE.