CHICAGO, IL (April 12, 2017) – Dominique Gilliard has accepted the call to serve as the director of racial righteousness and reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) mission priority.
Gilliard most recently served as the executive pastor of New Hope Covenant Church in Oakland, California. He had previously served in Oakland as the associate pastor of Convergence Covenant Church.
Gilliard has long served the Covenant in roles that have included pastoral ministry in Atlanta and Chicago as well as Oakland. He also has been a partner in campus ministry with University Ministries at North Park University, a member of the CHIC Council, racial righteousness director for ministry initiatives in the Pacific Southwest Conference, and an instructor and facilitator for LMDJ’s Invitation to Racial Righteousness seminar.
Gilliard currently serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association and Evangelicals for Justice. In 2015, he was selected as one of the Covenant’s “40 Under 40” leaders to watch, and the Huffington Post named him one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World.”
Gilliard earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in in African American Studies from Georgia State University and a Master of Arts in history from East Tennessee State University, with an emphasis on race, gender, and class in the United States. He earned a MDiv degree from North Park Seminary, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Christian ethics, theology, and reconciliation. He also directed North Park University’s Sankofa experience for more than three years. His book Re-Thinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores is scheduled to be released by InterVarsity Press in early 2018.
“My education and ministerial experiences have shaped me profoundly and have enabled me to faithfully serve God and neighbor, both inside and outside of the ECC,” Gilliard said. “The intersection of race, faith, and culture is my passion and the focus of my life’s work. I yearn to see the gospel embodied in ways that bear witness to the kingdom and produce racial righteousness and reconciliation for all people.”
LMDJ Executive Minister Cecilia Williams said Gilliard will deepen existing collaborations between mission priorities and establish new partnerships with Covenant affiliate ministries. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team. We look forward to enhancing existing curriculums, experiences and immersions, and creating new pathways in reconciliation ministry that will increase our capacity to better serve local congregations and regional conferences.”
Gilliard will assume his new responsibilities at Covenant Offices on April 19.
