About Us

Apostle I.V. Hilliard

Ira V. Hilliard, a native Houstonian, was called at the age of nine to preach God’s Word. Having waited one year so that his pastor would know he heard from God, Ira Hilliard preached his first sermon on a Mother’s Day night at the age of ten. He married the beautiful Bridget E. Harrison on October 4, 1975, who has co-labored with him in building a dynamic ministry that is recognized around the world.
This dynamic couple co-founded the outstanding New Light Christian Center Church (“One Church, Multiple locations”) in North, East, West, and South Houston; Beaumont and Austin, Texas.  New Light Christian Center Church is not only recognized around the country as a Mega-Church but in September 2007 it was honored as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Churches in America.
This Mega-Church also has a nationwide television ministry and Credit Union.

In 1995, after a mandate from God many years prior, Apostle Hilliard started Church Development Strategies Conference. Thousands of Pastors and leaders come to Houston annually to sit at his feet to learn church strategies, growth and development principles. The conference, now branded as Strategies Conference, is recognized as one of the best conferences of its kind in the country.
After a strong witness from God in 2001, Apostle Hilliard developed an organization of Pastors who  see him as a spiritual father or mentor. This organization is called the Association of Independent Ministries (A.I.M.). A.I.M. currently has 1,000 Pastors and is growing monthly.

A Pastor to Pastors and a man after God’s heart, Apostle Hilliard was confirmed as a Bishop in the Lord’s Church in February 2007.
Apostle I.V. Hilliard is an accomplished songwriter, prolific teacher and brilliant writer. He has been recognized for various scholarly honors and written numerous books to grow your faith, family, finances and ministry.

In January 2018 after 10 years of mentoring his daughter, Apostle Hilliard appointed his successor Dr. Irishea Hilliard as the Sr. Pastor of New Light Church. After 33 years of founding and pastoring New Light Church Apostle Hilliard and Pastor Bridget Hilliard have now fully embraced the Evangelical division of New Light.

Apostle Hilliard is committed to creating and cultivating an authentic FAITH experience that glorifies God and exceeds all expectations. His unwavering compassion for people along with his faithfulness to build into God’s people, PURPOSE, POWER, and PRAISE will continue yielding great results in the Kingdom of God.