Africa-Press – Liberia. Bishop-Apostle Davidetta G. Tarnue, Presiding Bishop of Gates Agapé Ministries International and a longtime educator and church leader whose ministry spanned decades of teaching, pastoral leadership, and institutional building, has died. She was 63.
Church authorities confirmed that Bishop Tarnue was pronounced dead on arrival at ELWA Hospital on the morning of April 19, 2026, at 8:00 a.m., after passing earlier at her residence in the Baptist Seminary Community.
Her death marks the close of a life defined by service to both church and country — from classrooms in Montserrado and Margibi Counties to pulpits that would eventually grow into a multi-branch ministry with reach beyond Liberia.
Born on June 2, 1962, in Bong County, Bishop Tarnue’s early life was shaped by movement and guardianship within a strong extended family network. She relocated as an infant to Bensonville, where she was raised by her adoptive mother, Melvina Nance Moulton, and later under the care of her grandmother, Jamima Thompson Parker.
She completed her primary education at Euphemia Elementary School in 1975 and graduated from the Frank E. Tolbert School in Bensonville in 1982. Drawn early to youth development, she pursued teacher training at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute, qualifying as a professional teacher in 1989.
Her professional life in education saw her serve at institutions including Haywood Mission Institution, R.C. Lawson High School, and Seventh Day Adventist High School, where she rose to the position of Vice Principal for Elementary and Student Affairs. Former students and colleagues credit her with shaping generations of Liberians who would go on to careers in public service, business, ministry, and diplomacy.
Parallel to her work in education was a deepening commitment to ministry. She was first licensed to preach in 1987 under the United Methodist Church and ordained in 1996. Her theological formation included studies at the Monrovia Bible Training Center, the World of Faith Bible Institute — where she graduated with distinction — and later the Global University of Theology in 2005.
Over time, Bishop Tarnue became a central figure in Liberia’s interdenominational Christian community. She was a founding member and first Vice President of the Liberia Fellowship of Full Gospel Ministers and Ministries, a founding member of the National Prayer Committee of Liberia, and a contributor to several faith-based networks including IGLO (Praise Ministry) and the Church of Liberia.
As founder of the Breaking Limitation (The Call to Women) Ministry and vision bearer of the Joy Foundation, she championed women’s spiritual development and empowerment within the church. Her leadership extended internationally through her affiliation with the Gates of Heaven Assembly of Churches in the United States, where she served as Liaison Officer for Liberia.
Within Gates Agapé Ministries, Bishop Tarnue’s rise was marked by steady institutional growth. From its early beginnings as a single congregation, the ministry expanded under her leadership to six churches in Liberia and one in the United States. She served as Head Pastor and National Overseer before being elected on December 16, 2021, as the first Presiding Bishop of the ministry — a role in which she was formally consecrated on December 17, 2022.
Her ministry was also shaped by personal loss. Her husband, Pastor Quaqua Y. Tarnue, whom she married in 1991, died in January 2022 after three decades of marriage.
Bishop Tarnue is survived by her biological children, as well as numerous foster sons and daughters in Liberia and across the diaspora, reflecting a life that blended family, mentorship, and ministry.
The Gates Agapé Ministries International, the Church of Liberia, and the Goud, Moulton, Parker, and Tarnue families said in a joint statement that they “mourn her transition with deep sorrow, while giving thanks for a life of unwavering faith, service, and leadership.”
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
