Lead Minister Candidate
Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis
As Plymouth Church members are learning about the candidate for our Lead Minister position, there’s much curiosity about his background, education, and career path. To help introduce you all here is a brief biography.
The Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis is the 15th child of a black minister who was once a sharecropper in Mississippi during Jim Crow. His father became a member of B.B. King’s band and traveled to California with him in hopes of making it as a musician, but he gave up the prospect of fame and great fortune to heed a call of ministry and life-long worship. DeWayne and his siblings were raised in the Pentecostal tradition. “I embraced the Pentecostalism of my parents without much thought. However, that coerced confession of faith launched me on both a spiritual journey of prayer, service, and stewardship and a prolonged exile into spiritual wilderness. At the age of 14, I was confronted with such spiritual conflict and ambiguity that the trajectory of my life would be forever altered.” DeWayne goes on to say, “I left the church, but God did not leave me. Leaving Church forced me to unlearn and relearn what faith is and can be.”
DeWayne’s educational history is impressive. He has a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from Howard University, an M.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, an M.Div in Preaching/Emerging Ministries from Wesley Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Church Management from Villanova University’s Center for Church Management and Business Ethics, and a D.Min. in Biblical Preaching from Luther Seminary.
DeWayne’s background includes extensive employment related to the federal government. He has worked as a health and economic policy analyst, a legislative assistant for both Congressmen Chet Edwards and Steny Hoyer, a federal relations director for Sallie Mae, and a domestic policy analyst in the Office of Government Relations for the Episcopal Church. During his ministerial career, he has organized conferences for the Metropolitan Community Churches denomination and served as a chaplain intern at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.
DeWayne has served as the Senior Pastor at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church since 2013. He and his husband, Kareem, whom he met at Howard University, live in Minneapolis.
DeWayne chose Plymouth Church for the next phase of his ministry because, he said, we have a capacity for excellence and a capacity to make a difference. We look forward to his leadership and companionship as we work together to bring healing and hope to our broken world.