“You think you know your path, but God has amazing surprises waiting for us.” – Rev. Dr. Jesse Williams Jr.
Rev. Dr. Jesse T. Williams, Jr. Eden Alumn and Board Chair, wasn’t always on a path to clergy–he studied and worked as a mechanical engineer for several years first. His work brought him to St. Louis, MO, where he met a pastor at West Side Baptist Church who saw obvious gifts in Rev. Dr. Williams, and, through his encouragement, set his life on a new course. The Pastor introduced Williams to a congregation member who was an Eden faculty member. Williams toured Eden and attended on campus events including convocation, seminars, and workshops.
“Next thing I knew, I was leaving my job as an engineer and enrolling in the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program at Eden.” – Rev. Dr. Williams
Williams’ Early Days at Eden: Formation and Discernment
At Eden, Williams built his spiritual foundation and discerned his path in service of the Church and God. In the final year of the program, he was called to serve as the Senior Pastor at a major St. Louis Church. Williams continued on to earn a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Eden and later joined the faculty at Eden.
“My experience at Eden is very diverse. I’ve seen the school from a lot of different angles–as a Master’s student, for my doctorate, serving on Eden’s Board, and serving on the faculty. I got to sit at the table and interact directly with faculty members as peers. What a tremendous gift.” – Rev. Dr. Williams.
Rev. Dr. Williams was a professor of Congregational Studies, which is a foundational requirement of the M.Div. program. Thus, he had the privilege of interacting with many diverse students. Supporting students as they discerned their path became a passion for Williams. During this time, Williams also worked to strengthen Eden’s relationships with the St. Louis Black Church community. He facilitated dialogue among Eden students, faculty, and Black St. Louis pastors, and increasingly, those groups overlapped. This was a turning point for the Eden’s Black Church Studies Program, and today, many, many prominent Black Eden alumni have achieved significantly in their respective spheres of leadership.
“It was a time where we appreciated Eden’s openness to diversity of different kinds of worship experiences, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds.” – Rev. Dr. Williams
Thanks to Williams’ and others’ enduring leadership, Eden’s values of diversity and inclusion have only strengthened over time. After serving as a faculty member, Williams joined the Eden Board, where he has served for a cumulative 22 years. Alongside many colleagues on Eden’s Board, Williams works diligently to advance diversity and inclusion in each new sociopolitical context that Eden encounters.
A Leader in every Sense of the Word
After many years in St. Louis, a call pulled Rev. Dr. Williams to New York City, where he today serves as the Senior Pastor at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem, NY. “Culture shock” would be an understatement – Convent Avenue Baptist Church is impacted by every urban and political issue in the metropolitan hub and is under constant scrutiny from major news outlets. As such, Williams has followed the call to be prophetic in his proclamation and deeply involved in conversations on how to tackle the largest issues the city faces including homelessness, hunger, and human trafficking. Williams energetically meets the responsibility to spirit the congregation, the community, and the whole city, representing the presence of God where it’s needed most.
If that wasn’t enough service, Williams was recently elected as the President of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, an organization with a 173-year-old tradition of doing mission work across 27 different countries and responding to emergency needs in the US.
Shaping the Future of Eden
And of course, Williams continues to serve on Eden’s board. In fact, he was recently elected Chair of the Board of Trustees. In this role, Williams feels his calling is to be faithful to God and in what Eden does as an institution. Williams sees himself as a link on the chain of leaders who have stewarded Eden through its many eras. The President, faculty, and staff are lucky to have his support as they live out the mission of the school.
Recently, Williams served on the strategic visioning committee alongside Eden Board and staff members. Together, they drafted a new, salient mission for Eden, a statement strong enough to propel Eden into the future:
Eden Theological Seminary is called to strengthen the life of the church by educating leaders with theological imagination and faithful resilience to join God’s loving and liberating work in the world.
“I just love that mission statement. That is what drives us and what liberates us.” – Rev. Dr. Williams
The strategic visioning committee delved into the hard questions: questions concerning trends for seminaries, theological education, enrollment, and funding. The committee breathed in the whole context and together crafted a plan that will strategically broaden Eden’s impact on theological education and strengthen Eden’s relationships with denominations, local congregations, and social justice movements.
Eden’s future is bright with Rev. Dr. Williams and Deb Krause at the helm, unwavering in their commitment to their students, community, and to joining in God’s loving work in the world.
