BISHOP-ELECT

Bishop-Elect Troy Sanders’ relationship with the divine started when he was a toddler, preaching on the front porch of his home in Denmark, South Carolina, and has served as the bedrock of his faith and ministry. As he grew so did his yearning and zeal for spiritual things, resulting in a life-long ministry designed to affect the lives of youth and adults.

In addition, as he has grown in age, he has also grown personally and spiritually, owning a personal mandate to walk in truth. It is this journey that has prepared him for the call­ing to minister words of healing and inspiration, being fully aware of the Pauline experience of once being a persecutor now join­ing the honorable ranks of those persecuted for the sake of true liberation.

His ministerial background includes over 25 years as a licensed and ordained minister, and over 15 years of church administration, where he created training curriculums and modules for leadership development; lecturing; and the development and institutionalization of a gos­pel choir in his hometown of Denmark.

In 1993,Bishop-Elect Troy moved to Atlanta, Georgia. While challenging both physically and spiritually, this move would ultimately birth wisdom and maturity in a boy who bore a manly call. He graduated from Southwest DeKalb High School in 1995 with honors.  In 2001, he completed his Bachelors of Arts program from Beulah Heights University (Atlanta, Georgia) as the class valedictorian. While at Beulah Heights, he began the Generation of Warriors Incorporated (1996) – a group of youth and young adults committed to providing holis­tic education and awareness to people of all ages, stages, and backgrounds.

Enriched by the mandate to be an advocate of liberation to all, Bishop-Elect Troy is equally grateful for his ministry of music. He completed a dual Master’s of Divinity and Masters of Art degree at the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, Georgia) in 2008.   Bishop-Elect Troy completed his Clinical Pastoral Education Residency as a Chaplain at Emory University Hospital.  He is currently completing the coursework and clinical residency as a therapist for his doctorate of Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia. 

Bishop-Elect Troy served as the first Assistant Pastor at The Victory for the World church in Stone Mountain, Georgia under the leadership of senior pastor, Dr. Kenneth L. Samuel. He provided pastoral leadership, counseling, and leadership/ministerial training and development for a diverse congregation of over 3,000 people.  Bishop-Elect Troy has created and implements a ministerial/laity leader­ship module to train church leaders how to address the countless administrative, religious, and non-religious needs of our community.  Bishop-Elect Troy is the Episcopal Liaison for the Greater Atlanta Area and serves the Executive Committee of The Fellowship Of Affirming Ministries, under the leadership of Bishop Yvette Flunder, an international movement of radically inclusive religious organizations committed to promoting liberation and addressing pivotal issues regarding racial, social, and economic equity. 

Continuing his commitment to speak to religious, social, and gender oppression, Bishop-Elect Troy is a highly sought after workshop presenter providing thought-provoking dialogue and training across the country on “Homosexuality In The Bible” as well as addressing the issues that LGBT people face while on the journey of reconciling their “Spirituality and Sexuality”.  In 2008, he provided consultation and training for The American Family Outgoing effort with SoulForce, a non-profit organization developed to provide freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance." At that time, Bishop-Elect Troy led a group of lesbian and gay families into mega churches across the nation to have non-combative dialogue with religious leaders around homophobia in the church and ways in which we can address the abuse affecting our people.

Bishop-Elect Troy remains committed to utilizing a model for ministry that marries pastoral care & counseling with a progressive charismatic theological approach, combining a liberation theology undergirded by a pastoral care hermeneutic.