Dr. Henry E. Wright poses by a portrait of his younger self in the lobby of Evangel Temple Church. He will be consecrated as a bishop this weekend.

VALDOSTA — The title has finally caught up with Dr. Henry E. Wright.

For 45 years, Wright has led Evangel Temple Church. He started the church, overseen foreign missions, worked with other pastors and churches near and far, created the 60-unit Sands Horizon apartment complexes to house low-income elderly residents.

These are some of his accomplishments and responsibilities.

This weekend, Wright will be consecrated to the office of bishop in a ceremony led by Bishop Wayne Johnson, chief consecrator.

As bishop, Wright will continue many of his current responsibilities, while others will be added and some will change.

He will still be associated with Evangel Temple, the church he’s led from “living room to candy store to store front” to three acres of land purchased in 1974 to the

current church on Clay Road which opened its doors in 1988, but he will no longer be Evangel’s full-time pastor.

“I will still be with the church,” Wright said. “It’s just time to ensure that my legacy is in place for the church’s future.”

Wright’s legacy is closely associated with the church and Valdosta. An unexpected turn of events for a man who spent his childhood and youth in New York City’s Brooklyn.

Distant relatives led to a few childhood visits to Valdosta, but Wright had no plans to live in South Georgia. He had a good job working in inhalation therapy for the City of New York and was a minister. He had no plans to leave his NYC roots.

Until Wright developed a debilitating case of pneumonia.

He prayed to God. He would do whatever God wished as long as the Lord took away the pneumonia.

“The Lord spoke and said come to Valdosta,” Wright said. “God said, this is where you need to be.”

Wright laughed recalling it.

He had a good job. New York was home.

“I didn’t want to come to Valdosta,” he said.

But the pneumonia passed. He got better. Wright moved to Valdosta.

It was 1969. He faced massive cultural changes moving to the South.

He sat on a train beside of a white man all the way to Savannah, where Wright had to move to a segregated train car.

In Valdosta, he worked at a store which treated him well. His fellow employees were his friends but they could not eat lunch together.

Wright did not dwell on these things then or now. He kept his faith. He started Evangel Temple Church.

He had practiced his faith since childhood. Though a culture adjustment from New York City, Valdosta became home.

He and wife Shelby raised four daughters. They now have 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The church grew and Wright’s ministry grew both locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

The biography accompanying his consecration this weekend lists numerous spheres of his ministerial influence: Germany, Liberia, New York, and other locales.

He has served on numerous boards and organizations: a founding member of Lowndes Associated Ministries for People (LAMP); Hospice of South Georgia; a member of the Chaplains Association of South Georgia Medical Center for the past 42 years; executive board member of Provident Investment Corporation; Southern Deliverance Fellowship Ministries.

In the past few weeks, he’s been preparing for the consecration ceremony, 10 a.m. Saturday, sponsored by the Valdosta Deliverance Evangelistic Center.

He said he’s been overwhelmed by the response. Congratulatory letters have arrived from area congressmen, Gov. Nathan Deal and President Barack Obama.

The President’s letter reads: “Michelle and I offer our congratulations on this milestone in your spiritual journey. We pray that the cherished memories of this special occasion will always nourish your faith. May God continue to bless and guide you throughout your life.”

Becoming bishop is the next step in Wright’s journey — a journey that will deepen his relationships throughout ministries internationally and resonate in his works in Valdosta.