Footprints | Bishop Joseph Ade-Gold - a man of great faith

It is was a simple yet profound statement that resonated with the many mourners who gave tributes as they remembered the life of Bishop Joseph Ade-Gold - 'it is well'.

The thanksgiving service was held at the Webster Memorial United Church in St Andrew on Saturday.

Reverend Alesta Deslandes, who represented the Royal Ambassadors Church of Christ, said the bishop lived a life where there was no difference between elites and the common man.

"When we think about him as a pastor, one of the things we realise is that he was a national figure, but to us he was a little closer - he was like a father to us. He was not just a father to his children and adopted children, but to many of us," he said.

"Every time you call Bishop, it's as if he is not doing anything else. It's just you and him alone. He was there for his church. There was something significant that he taught me, which was to 'restore before you rebuke'. He would rebuke, but he made sure he restored first."

EXEMPLARY LIFE

Debbie Ade-Gold Thompson, the Bishop's daughter, said he lived an exemplary life, which will forever be etched in the minds of herself and her siblings.

"Dad was a man of great faith. He believed that all things were possible through Christ. One afternoon when I took him home from a doctor's visit, he said to me, 'Daughter, I don't know what God is doing with me, but all I know is, it is well with my soul'," she told the audience to a rousing applause and shouts of confirmation.

"He was never quick to condemn us because there were times when some of us (children) went astray, but he gently guided us back along the path. He would always say, you guys can go as far as you want to go, and you are free to do so, but remember in the end, you have to come back to God."

He is survived by his wife, the Reverend Grace Ade-Gold, and five children.