Leadership

Senior Pastor and Bishop Michael Hatch was born late summer 1960 in Washington, D.C.  He is the oldest of four siblings and accepted Christ as his savior at the age of 9. He lived for Christ up until the age of thirteen, when he was overtaken by peer pressure. He was forced to choose between being a “little church boy” or a “popular athlete”. He became a full-fledged athlete and played football, baseball, basketball and boxing. In 1982, two years after receiving his B.S. Degree in Real Estate & Pre-Law, he got involved in drugs and organized crime, which led to God giving him an ultimatum: “Either serve God or spend the next 30 years in prison.” Michael chose God and since that time has become a Senior Pastor and Community Leader.

Executive Pastor Roi Ford was born during the summer of 1968 in San Mateo, California. His life is a true riches-to-rags story, as he was born into wealth, but after a bitter divorce the comfortable life he knew as a child all came crumbling to an end. By the time he was in high school, he became homeless along with his little sister and mother. They met a Christian man, who ran a shelter with a home-like setting, which provided the help needed to get out of their situation. To this day, he has never forgotten the kind actions of this man. His current involvement with the Balm of Gilead mirrors his personal experiences and he has devoted his life to God first while also helping others. He is currently the Executive Pastor of Care and oversees the day-to-day operations of the church, its auxiliaries, the food pantry and the monthly farmers market.

Our beloved First Lady Gloria Hatch is the highly esteemed and gifted spouse of Senior Pastor Michael Hatch. With a background in accounting and bookkeeping, along with 28 years of experience, she manages the Church's finances and is an awesome prayer warrior.     

First Lady Shanti Ford is the beloved wife of Pastor Roi Ford and is highly gifted in various areas of her life, including bookkeeping and finance management, audio-visual components, administrative duties and more. She applies her knowledge as the Church Secretary and works as the Sound Technician.  

She was born in Saigon Vietnam in 1970 and was rescued and brought to America by her father four years later. Being raised in the Church, Shanti remembers attending services where she was introduced to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through song and good Bible teaching. One of her favorite scriptures is John 14:12-14.

Sharon Denise Smith started singing at four years old and writing plays at twelve. She grew up singing at St. Mark Baptist Church in Long Beach, Calif., where she performed her first solo Gospel song, “Down in the Valley.” That was the beginning of her musical journey, soon becoming one of the church's leading soloists and directing the youth choir at the age of 15. With her sultry soulful voice, she soon became one of the voices to be heard not only at her local church but also within her community. She organized and directed an anointed group of twelve singers she called "Vision of Praise Gospel Ensemble" that ministered for thirteen years locally, nationally and overseas.

While singing has always been a passion for this gifted R&B style singer, Sharon has also performed for 21 years at the Las Vegas House of Blues' World Famous Gospel Brunch inside Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. She was also blessed to be a part of a 30-city tour in Japan, a Dennis Kasey Parks production called “Liberty on the Street” in 2001, and has toured several cities in the U.S.  

In 1991, Sharon was inspired to write, produce and direct her first production, “The Deliverance Zone,” which was a great success. She went on to write and produce additional gospel stage plays, "Stand" and "Untold Realities,” as well as, “Silver Shadow,” in which she plays feisty, shank-carrying senior citizen Mother Hutchins. In this role, she displays her unique ability to sing traditional Gospel styling like the great Mahalia Jackson. “Silver Shadow" highlighted how much she’s grown in her craft as a psalmist, writer, directress and actress. This opened the door for Sharon to be one of the featured local comedians in Aaron Arrington’s Gospel Giggles at the Las Vegas Hilton show doing her very first stand-alone stand up Gospel segment. God has anointed this vessel to captivate her audiences by creating a spiritual atmosphere that leaves audiences wanting to shout, rejoice and be energized to get their praise on!
 
In June 2007, Sharon received her B.S. degree in Psychology from CalCoast University, and in 2014 she received a M.S. degree in Community Mental Health Counseling from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is now a fully licensed Certified Professional Counselor with her own practice, Stillwaters Counseling L.L.C.  She hopes to not only encourage others with her singing, playwriting and comedy, but hopes to help the masses change cognitively and spiritually from the negative behaviors that hinder growth, while encouraging awareness and acceptance in Jesus Christ, who is the Wonderful Counselor.  

Some of her influences musically have been Kim Burrell, Aretha Franklin, John P. Kee; theatrically, Lucille Ball, Mr. Brown, spiritually, her recently deceased mother, her Pastor Michael Hatch and mentor Dr. Tiffany Tyler.  Stay tuned and expect even greater Kingdom work from this gifted, talented and anointed woman of God.

Niesha serves as one of our praise and worship leaders and board member. She has been under the spiritual leadership of Dr. Hatch for nearly 20 years. As a Las Vegas native, Niesha's goal is to give back to the community through service in health administration. She is finishing up her degree in health management and looks forward to networking with others to come up with affordable solutions to the disproportionally and underserved communities regarding mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. Niesha is blessed with two beautiful kids and loves to read and travel.

Every person we encounter in our lifetime has a story and can contribute to the kingdom of God. Revelations 12:11 says, "and they overcame him the blood of the lamb and by the words of their testimony." Your story is waiting to be heard and I look forward to serving and growing with you.