Smallwood E. Williams; Founder of Bible Way Churches

Bishop Smallwood E. Williams, 83, the influential founder of the Bible Way Churches Worldwide based in Washington. The onetime street preacher began his ministry in 1927 after arriving in the nation’s capital from Columbus, Ohio. In time, he founded the Bible Way Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Worldwide, which claims more than 100,000 members and has about 330 congregations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Williams said he always had a belief that God would provide for the daily needs of those who sought His help. His church relied on a gospel of faith, self-confidence and salvation and he became one of the most influential ministers in Washington. He was a former president of the Washington chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a delegate to several national conventions of the Democratic Party. In 1989, he endorsed the mayoral campaign of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, now the District’s non-voting representative in the Senate. On Friday in Washington after heart surgery.