Photo provided Suff. Bishop Darrell Cummings, left, poses with the former bishop of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Gwendolyn Weeks.

WHEELING — Suff. Bishop Darrell Cummings, pastor of Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in Wheeling, will now serve as a spiritual and community leader in two cities thousands of miles apart.

Cummings was voted to become Bishop of Port Elizabeth on Wednesday by the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World’s Board of Bishops during its midwinter meeting.

“I’m going to be the American spiritual representative for Port Elizabeth,” explained Cummings. “I will still be the pastor of the Bethlehem Apolistic Temple, I’m just going to be more dependent on the members here to help me as I’m going to be traveling to South Africa more.

“This is an exciting time and a nervous time for me,” continued Cummings. “I’m nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs because I’ve never done this before.”

The excitement for Cummings stems from becoming the first Pentecostal Assemblies of the World diocesan bishop in the Ohio Valley in more than 100 years. The nerves stem from being named a diocesan on a national level, as Cummings has served as a Suffragan Bishop, which is the assistant to the diocesan bishop.

Cummings became involved with Port Elizabeth seven years ago when he invited the former bishop of Port Elizabeth, Gwendolyn Weeks, to speak at the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple.

Cummings described “making a connection” to Weeks and her service in Port Elizabeth while she was in Wheeling.

After several years of Cummings supporting Port Elizabeth from afar, Weeks invited Cummings and his wife, Laitsha Turner-Cummings, to visit South Africa and speak at churches in the area. From there, the Cummings were invited back six times, continuing their collaboration with Weeks.

For the past three years, Cummings and his wife have visited Port Elizabeth every February and October for two weeks at a time. When Weeks decided to retire from her position as Bishop of Port Elizabeth to become the Bishop of Maryland, she nominated Cummings.

From there began a vetting process for Cummings that included Wheeling community leaders writing letters on his behalf and a year-long investigation by the Board of Bishops to determine whether he was worthy of the role.

After being voted into the position by the board on Wednesday, Cummings will now be consecrated in Baltimore, Maryland in July.

In October, Cummings will head to Port Elizabeth for his installation to the position, which will include a special service and program with pastors in the community. Cummings added they hope to have a duplicate installation in the Ohio Valley at a later date.

“This is an extreme honor and privilege,” said Cummings. “It’s a heavy responsibility, but also a high one. I hope to extend my legacy and service to our community in the Ohio Valley and now be a part of helping to make a difference here and around the world.”