National Black Church Initiative announces its "25 Most Effective Christian Biblical Preachers” of 2025-2026

Photo (left-to-right): Bishop Noel Jones, Bishop TD Jakes, Rev. Jamal Bryant, Rev. Frederick Haynes III

The National Black Church Initiative, a coalition of 150,000 African American and Latino faith communities, has announced its 25 Most Effective Christian Biblical Preachers of 2025-2026.

The list includes:

1. Bishop T.D. Jakes

   (former) Sr. Pastor of The Potter's House, Dallas, TX

2. Rev. Dr. Carolyn Ann Knight

   Assistant Professor of homiletics at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA

3. Bishop Rudolph W. McKissick, Jr.

   Sr. Pastor of the Bethel Church, Jacksonville, FL

4. Rev. Dr. Charles Goodman Jr.

   Senior Pastor, Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta, GA

5. Rev. Dr. William E. Flippin, Sr.

   Sr. Pastor, The Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA

   
   

   

6. Bishop J.Drew Sheard, Ph.D.

   Greater Emmanuel Institutional Presiding Bishop C.O.G.I.C

   
   

7. Rev. Dr. John W. Kinney

   Ebenezer Baptist Church, Beaverdam, VA

   
   

8. Dr Steven G. Blunt

   Sr. Pastor, First Baptist Church Mahan Street, Suffolk, VA

   
   

9. Rev. Clifford Jones

   Sr. Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC

   
   

10. Rev. Reginald Wayne Sharpe Jr.

    Sr. Pastor, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, IL

    
    

    

11. Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III

    Sr. Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dallas, TX

    
    

12. Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Fry Brown

    Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Bandy Professor of Preaching, Emory Candler School of Theology

    
    

13. Rev. Dr. Marcus Cosby

    Sr. Pastor, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Houston, TX

    
    

14. Rev. Matthew Watley

    Sr. Pastor of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church, Calverton, MD

    
    

15. Rev. Dr. Tellis Chapman

    Pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, Detroit, MI

    
    

    

16. Rev. Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant

    Sr. Pastor, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

    
    

17. Rev. E. Dewey Smith

    House of Hope, Atlanta, GA

    
    

18. Dr. Ralph Douglas West

    Sr. Pastor of The Church Without Walls, Houston, TX

    
    

19. Bishop Dr. Claude M. Alexander

    Sr. Pastor, The Park Church Charlotte, NC

    
    

20. Pastor Mark A. McCleary

    Founder, President of Mark McCleary Ministries

    
    

    

21. Bishop Noel Jones

    Pastor, City of Refuge LA, Founder, Noel Jones Ministries

    
    

22. Rev. Dr. John Faison

    Sr. Pastor, Watson Grove Baptist Church, Nashville, TN

    
    

23. Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

    Sr. Pastor Alfred Street, VA

    
    

24. Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis

    Senior Pastor of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, PA

    
    

25. Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II

    Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign