MONTE NEWBILL, SR.
Monte was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He is the oldest son to Dennis (deceased) and Lillie Newbill of Aiken, South Carolina. From an early age, Monte has been involved and engaged in Church activities, first at Breath of Life SDA Church in Jacksonville, Florida and later at New Life SDA Church in Aiken, South Carolina. After graduating from High School in 2002, Monte enlisted in the United States Army and has served as a Chaplain Assistant for 13 years. During his active duty time in service, Monte has deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar and stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, Fort Detrick, MD and Fort Jackson, SC. The Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries Director asked him to serve as a Distinctive Faith Group Leader (DFGL) for the SDA group in Kuwait and later at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was during this time that Monte stopped running from God’s calling into the Gospel Ministry and his life has not been the same. While serving in Hawaii, Monte was appointed as the Hawaii Conference of SDA Men’s Ministry Director. In this capacity, he organized the Conference’s first island-wide Men’s Retreat were 62 men and young people attended and were enriched. Monte was a highly requested evangelist/preacher while in Hawaii and enjoyed preaching, teaching, and sharing the Word of God. He served in the manner of the conference evangelist as he preached on rotation at 11 of the 18 churches in Hawaii. He was a member of the Japanese SDA Church, Honolulu, Hawaii where he served as the personal ministry, military ministry, and the vesper coordinator. On August 27, 2015, after 13 dedicated and faithful years of exemplary service for our country, Monte was Honorably Discharged from the United States Army. Currently, Monte is serving as the Senior Class Chaplain of the graduating class of 2020, the president of the School of Religion’s Theology Forum, and the Chapel Director (which is the only worship service that includes the entire campus of Oakwood University). Other leadership positions that Monte has served include (1) Off-Campus United Student Movement (USM) senator, (2) Chaplain of the Religion and Theology Department Forum, and (3) Chaplain of the Psychology Department. He has served as a pastoral intern at the Oakwood University Church under Dr. Carlton P. Byrd and he is currently serving as an Elder at New Life SDA Church in Huntsville, AL under Pastor Nelson Stokes. On December 15, the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) of Seventh-day Adventist Executive Committee voted to hire Monte as a Pastor in their great conference with the assignment to the Rockhill/Pageland, South Carolina district which, has brought Monte back home. Monte is married to the former Daniella Chambers of Brooklyn, New York, who is a 1Sgt in the United States Air Force and has earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Organizational Leadership and was recently name 1Sgt of the Year for the State of Alabama. Together, they have three children: Joshua (18), Michael (12), and Monte, Jr. (7), and have a soon to be 1-year old granddaughter. As Monte answers God’s call to ministry, he focuses on the fact that he is just a nobody, trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody. Monte’s ministry philosophy is found in John 12:32 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), “I will be lifted up from the earth. When that happens, I will draw all to myself.”