Rev. Dr. Booker T. Sears, Jr. | Pastor
Rev. Booker T. Sears Jr., D.D. is the pastor of the Goodwill Baptist
Church, Bronx, New York. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, he is the
eldest of four children born to the late Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Booker T. Sears
Sr. After entering the gospel ministry on August 20, 1961, he began
pastoring on the third Sunday in March 1963. He pastored four churches in
South Carolina prior to being called as the third pastor of
Goodwill Baptist Church in 1985.
Rev. Sears earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion and Bachelor of Divinity (now called the M.Div.) degree (1964),
respectively, from Benedict College and the Colleges
J.J. Starks School of Religion in Columbia, South Carolina. Rev. Sears holds numerous honorary doctorates from several colleges and universities.
In addition to his academic preparation, Rev. Sears fifty-eight year
ministry has been marked by an unwavering love of family and community and
especially the strong moral influence set by his parents. As a result of
his father's open civil rights activism, young Booker learned the gospel amidst
regular death threats from the local Ku Klux Klan. Consequently, he
shares the practical and sharp wisdom of one who has been there.
Rev. Sears became Pastor of Goodwill when the South Bronx was declared comparable to a
Third World country and the icon of African American and Latino despair and
decline. Against great odds, the congregation survived under his leadership,
love and care.
Beyond the pastorate, Rev. Sears continues to be active in Baptist life
and the New York Metropolitan Area. He has served as first
and second vice president of the Ministers Conference of Greater New York and
Vicinity and as chairman of Home Missions for the Empire
Missionary Baptist Convention and Dean of the Bronx Ministers Prayer Alliance.
He is also an active member of the United Missionary Baptist Association and
the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.
Rev. Sears is the father of two sons: Marc (and wife, Tiffany) and
Andre (and wife, Tamara); three daughters: Carol (and husband, Anthony),
Christina and Adrienne (and husband, Carl); and the grandfather of eleven.
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