Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, elected in 2022, is the Resident Bishop of the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area in the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. The area encompasses the Alaska, Oregon-Idaho, and Pacific Northwest Conferences.
 
Early life
Bishop Bridgeforth was born in Decatur, Alabama. His home churches were the Lakeview United Methodist and Oakville Baptist churches. Clifton and Premina Griffin, his maternal grandparents, insisted upon and modeled a Christian faith that expressed love for all, compassion in dire circumstances, and grace, especially when it seemed unwarranted from a human point of view.
 
Education and Ordination
Bishop Bridgeforth is a U.S. Air Force veteran who earned a Bachelor of Arts, Religion from Samford University (1997); a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree from the Claremont School of Theology (2000); and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University (2005). He was ordained an elder by Bishop Mary Ann Swenson in the California-Pacific Conference.
 
Ordained Ministry
At the beginning of his pastoral ministry, Bridgeforth served as a student intern at Crossroads UMC in Compton (1997-1999). As a spiritual leader, he has served as lead pastor in four congregations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California. Those pastorates ranged from predominantly African American congregations in the heart of the Crenshaw District to multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-site ministries in the inner-city and suburban sectors of Santa Ana. These pastorates included Grace UMC Los Angeles (2018-2021), Santa Ana UMC (2015-2017), Crenshaw UMC (2003-2008), and Bowen Memorial UMC (1999-2003).
 
Superintendency
For eight years (2008-2015), Bridgeforth served as a district superintendent and dean of the cabinet in the California-Pacific Conference (Los Angeles and West Districts) in one of the most diverse regions in United Methodism, with language and cultural ministries from over twenty regions of the world. The geography spanned coastal, mountain, rural, and desert communities.
 
Episcopacy
Rev. Bridgeforth was elected as a bishop of The United Methodist Church on November 4, 2022, by the Western Jurisdiction at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City on the 18^th ballot. He was assigned to the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area (Alaska, Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences).
 
Connection
Within The United Methodist Church, Bridgeforth has been a candidacy mentor for those discerning a call to ministry and a supervising elder for those in the provisional and full connection review processes. He was elected a clergy delegate to general and jurisdictional conferences in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2020. In 2016, 2019, and 2020, he was the first elected clergy delegate for the California-Pacific Conference. Those elections led him to service on the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits (now Wespath) and as a member of the Western Jurisdiction’s committee on nominations.
 
From 2013 to 2016, Bridgeforth served as president of Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) and co-convener of the Inter-Ethnic Strategy Development Group.
 
Family
Bishop Bridgeforth is married to Christopher Hucks-Ortiz. Hucks-Ortiz is a public health and research professional with demonstrated leadership in the US domestic and global field of infectious disease. His work and research have focused on HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, STIs, and Hepatitis prevention and intervention, with proven success in securing public funds to support research and health programs targeting key vulnerable populations.