Bishop Dr. Richard Leaphart-Mack
Founder & Senior Pastor of New Hope Cathedral, called to carry a message of hope and built to lead it for twenty-five years and counting.
Called, Trained, and Sent
Bishop Dr. Richard Leaphart-Mack was raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, where the foundations of his character and his conviction were forged early. That conviction found its purpose in ministry. In 1997 he was licensed and ordained by Bishop George Hoke at All Nations Church of God, and by January 1998 he had been appointed Assistant Pastor there — a season that sharpened his leadership and confirmed the call on his life.
In July 2001, that call moved from preparation to action. Standing on the word of Habakkuk 2:2 — "Write the vision, and make it plain" — Bishop Leaphart-Mack founded New Hope in his own home, carrying a message he could not shake: that people needed a new hope, and that he had been appointed to deliver it. What started around a kitchen table has grown into a cathedral of faith serving Stockbridge, Georgia, and beyond.
Beginning in December 2002, New Hope came under the spiritual covering of Bishop Eddie L. Long and The Father's House Ministry. Bishop Leaphart-Mack became a spiritual son to Bishop Long, who appointed him an Ambassador within The Father's House — entrusted to assist and encourage other pastors across the network. That relationship shaped his leadership for the rest of Bishop Long's life and left a permanent mark on how he leads New Hope today: with covering, with accountability, and with a commitment to raising up other leaders.
Today Bishop Leaphart-Mack's leadership extends well beyond the pulpit. He serves as Senior Chaplain of the Stockbridge Police Department, standing with those who serve and protect the city New Hope calls home. He is Founder of R.A.M. Ministries (Richard Angelo Mack Ministries), an extension of his personal calling to preach and equip. And within the Kingdom International Consortium, under Presiding Primate Bishop Eric Garnes, he holds senior episcopal leadership as Assistant Presiding Bishop — a role that positions him to speak into the direction of a wider body of churches and leaders.
Through every season and every title, the mission has never changed. Bishop Leaphart-Mack leads New Hope Cathedral the same way he founded it: with vision made plain, conviction that doesn't waver, and a relentless belief that this is the place where God dwells.
A Partnership Built on Purpose
Bishop Leaphart-Mack has never led alone. Alongside Executive Pastor and First Lady Synetra Leaphart-Mack, married since October 1988, he has built New Hope as a shared work — two callings moving in the same direction.
From a home Bible study in 2001 to a growing cathedral in Stockbridge, the Bishop's leadership has always been about building something that outlasts him — a house of faith, community, compassion, and discipleship that stands for generations. As New Hope approaches its 25th Anniversary on August 30, 2026, that legacy is more visible than ever.