Couple leading Florida’s oldest black church faces more than $3M in IRS liens: report

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, June 08, 2026

Rudolph McKissick Jr., senior pastor of Florida’s oldest black congregation, the Bethel Church, historically known as Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville, Florida, is facing more than $3 million in IRS tax liens along with his wife, Rev. Kimberly McKissick, the church’s executive pastor.

The liens stem from the couple’s failure to pay personal income taxes for income earned from 2006 to 2021. Records cited by Action News Jax show the couple was hit with one federal tax lien in April for more than $1.85 million covering 2010 to 2014. Additional federal income tax liens were imposed on the couple in 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2021 for unpaid taxes from 2006 through 2013, and 2016 to 2017.

Church officials were unavailable for comment Friday when contacted by The Christian Post.

In addition to being the oldest black church in Florida, the 14,000-member congregation, which was established in 1838, is also one of Florida’s oldest churches.

Bishop McKissick Jr. was installed as the 11th pastor of the church in 1999, sharing the role with his father, Pastor Rudolph McKissick Sr., according to the church’s website.

“This calling gave Bethel its first dual pastorate, called the Dynamic Duo. Under Pastor McKissick, Jr.’s vision, the foundation was laid for numerous church ministries, which included Joshua’s Generation, karate for youth, praise singers, praise dancers, and a weekly Sunday morning television ministry during which time viewers can call the church’s prayer line for spiritual guidance and comfort,” the church states.

Bishop McKissic Jr. became the sole senior pastor of the church in 2014 when his father retired.

“As Lead Pastor, Bishop McKissick, Jr.’s ministerial vision has resulted in the expansion of ordained and licensed pastors, elders, reverends and ministers, both male and female, to further undergird the wide variety of ministries, which serve the local congregation of over 14,000 members and bolster community outreach efforts,” the church states.

The Bethel Church boasts a rich history, including once serving as a “mixed congregation of blacks and whites, slaves and slave owners” before the Civil War.

Over the course of the war, the church was used as an Army hospital, but when it was over, “an attempt was made to separate the white and black members of the Bethel Baptist congregation.”

A dispute emerged between the black and white members over the church property, which was located on Church Street in Jacksonville, and dragged on in court for years before it was settled in 1868.

The court awarded the property to the white members, but they had to compensate the black members for the property. The black members were also granted the church’s name.

Members of the black church used proceeds from the settlement to purchase land on what is now Main Street in downtown Jacksonville. The church’s current building at 215 Bethel Baptist Street was completed in 1904.