Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr., is the son of the late Mr. T. DeWitt Smith, Sr. and Mrs. Ernestine Smith. Our beloved spiritual leader is married to Aretta A. Smith. They are the parents of four children and twelve grandchildren. Dr. Smith is a native of Chicago and is a graduate of Judson College (Elgin, IL) with a B. A. degree; Ashland Theological Seminary (Ashland, OH) with the M. Div. and D. Min. degrees. Pastor Smith served as Moderator of the Atlanta Ecumenical Planning Committee of the World Council of Churches when they met in Atlanta 2004. He is an inductee in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Morehouse College Board of Distinguished Preachers.
Dr. Smith was elected and installed as the 18th President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC) in its annual session held in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 2006. He has been a part of the PNBC family for over thirty-five years, and as an active member he has served the convention as instructor in the Congress of Christian Education, Chairman of the PNBC Board of Education and Publication, Dean of the Congress of Christian Education, before being elected as the 2nd and 1st Vice President of the Parent Body. He has served on various committees and will continue as a member/ex-officio member of various PNBC Boards/Committees/Ministries, the World Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance, Executive Committee of the Baptist Joint Committee, and the World Council of Churches’ Decade To Overcome Violence Committee.
He has preached and taught nationally and internationally, been involved in civic affairs and hold memberships in several organizations of note.
Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr. succeeded the late Civil Rights Leader and Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Ralph David Abernathy as the Pastor of the West Hunter Street Baptist Church. Following a great tour of service for eleven years as the Senior Pastor of the West Hunter Street Baptist Church of Atlanta Georgia, our pastor resigned at the end of August 2003 to organize the Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta. It was an obedient response to a loving Lord who called out to him, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" In the tradition of Scripture, he answered, "Here am I; send me."
With the support of his wife and family and a prayerful send off by the West Hunter Street family, Trinity began worshipping September 7, 2003 in East Point, GA. A formal service of Installation and Church Recognition was observed Sunday, September 24, 2003 with the participation of local and national pastors, the West Hunter Street Baptist Church officials and members, civic leaders, with the Installation sermon being preached by Dr. M. L. Jemison, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. and Senior Pastor of the St. John Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, OK.
Dr. Smith loves to hear good preaching, to preach and teach, and has authored several books that our used by several of our African American church groups locally and nationally, for their denominational conferences and as training materials in preparation for lay ministry in the church. The books are as follows: Deacon In The Black Baptist Church, Putting Lay People To Work,New Testament Deacons In African American Churches, Membership Orientation, Deaconess On Duty and Training Trustees For Baptist Churches.
Our pastor served the New Hope Baptist Church in Akron, Ohio for fourteen years and the Progressive Baptist Church in Elgin, Illinois for seven years. He believes strongly in being led by the Holy Spirit, serving God by ministering to humanity, and doing all he can to lift the people of Christ to excellence in the Lord's service.
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