Rev. Reginald W. Sharpe, Jr., senior pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, is a bona fide Black history maker. He is the third Pastor ever to lead the historic church, founded in 1950.
Rev. Sharpe follows the legendary pastoral lineage of the late Rev. Clay Evans and Pastor Charles Jenkins. Like his predecessors, he sees his role as an opportunity to bring social activism to the pulpit, shining a light on the social ills that impact Black people, particularly young people.
“Well, I come out of the African-American church tradition — and part of that is you don’t separate the spiritual from the social,” he once said in a television interview.
Though Rev. Sharpe has served in his role since December 2019, this Men of Excellence honoree has substantially impacted his community as a spiritual leader. He has provided invaluable leadership and guidance, especially during the turmoil of the pandemic.
Fellowship experienced astonishing growth in all aspects of ministries during the pandemic.
When the church launched virtual church services after shutting down in-person worship, it eventually engaged an average weekly audience of 25,000. During that time, Rev. Sharpe was unflinching in his belief that “Although the building was closed, the church was still open.”
When protests erupted nationally after the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Rev. Sharpe participated in several peaceful demonstrations in response.
The origins of his faith journey began in his native Lithonia, Georgia, and The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church ~ The House of Hope Atlanta, of which he is a product. He is also married to Brianna Sullivan Sharpe.
Rev. Sharpe is a graduate of Morehouse College and holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville and a Master of Theology degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.
However, as a committed theology student, his pursuit of knowledge does not stop there.
Rev. Sharpe is pursuing a Ph.D. in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
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