Meet Our Bishop

Meet Our Bishop

        Cleo Fred Bentley Jr. was born to the late Cleo Fred Bentley Sr. and Lelia Ann Bentley on July 13, 1967 in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Fred Jr. wasn’t raised in a Christian home but God still had a plan for his life. Before entering the Duval county public school system, at the age of four, he was enrolled into Sister Williams Christian Day School where he benefitted from being in the presence of people of God that not only taught him the alphabet and numeric counting but they spoke into his life and covered him in prayer. Along with his grandmother Rosa Berry who did likewise this practice was undoubtedly the catalyst that steered him in the direction to become the man that God has called him to be. Before Fred Jr. could reach this place in God,  he like many had trials and tribulations to overcome. After graduating from Samuel Wolfson Senior High School in 1985 he attended Florida Community College. After dropping out he deceived his parents by making them believe that he was still enrolled. When the truth came out it hurt his father the most, because he had only a ninth grade education and he wanted more for his name sake. Being jobless for over a year, Fred Jr. finally gained employment through his father with the Crom Corporation where he worked for ten years. However hard and diligent it seemed that he could never redeem himself. The emptiness he felt seemed to be filled on April 3, 1992 when he married the love of his life Portia Bryant, to this union came Cleo III, Camree, John, and Clara. The Bentley clan was intact but Fred Jr. realized quickly that the empty void in his life had returned. He began a downward spiral drowning in self-pity, alcohol and not being able to make his father proud. In the summer of 1994 under peaceful urging of his wife he visited New St. James Holy Family Church. That’s where he came face to face with his redeemer and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Brother Bentley became a member and later a licensed Elder under the leadership of Pastors Rudolph and Barbara Mims. After serving as a lay member, minister and elder for ten years being obedient to the Holy Spirit he changed his membership to worship with his ailing father who was diagnosed with colon cancer. On February 3, 2004 Elder Bentley was ordained by Pastor Clyde Jenkins. After much prayer and meditation Natural Born Truth Ministry was birthed out of this Man of God. He was later called upon to succeed the retiring Rev. Clyde Jenkins at Mount Olive Baptist Church 4080 Grant Road Jacksonville, FL where Bishop Elect Bentley is in his 10^th year serving as the Senior Pastor of New Mount Olive Natural Born Truth Ministry.