Dr. Carlton P. Byrd

Senior Pastor, Oakwood University Seventh-day Adventist Church

Dr. Byrd is a graduate of Oakwood University (formerly Oakwood College) in Huntsville, Ala., with dual degrees, a bachelor of arts degree in theology and a bachelor of science degree in business management. He is also a graduate of Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., where he earned the master of business administration degree, and a graduate of Andrews University (SDA Theological Seminary) in Berrien Springs, Mich., where he earned both the master of divinity degree and the doctor of ministry degree with an emphasis in African American religious studies.

In his 15 years of pastoral leadership, Dr. Byrd has constructed and renovated churches, baptized more than 2,100 people, served on numerous denominational and community boards, along with serving as a guest minister on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Since his arrival in August 2006 as the senior pastor of the Berean SDA Church, more than 1,000 people have been baptized, church attendance has doubled, the church building has been remodeled, and a television ministry has been launched that currently airs weekly on two Atlanta television stations. Under Dr. Byrd’s leadership, the Atlanta Berean Church was awarded a $5.2 million grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in January 2009 to construct a 50-apartment Senior Citizens’ Housing Facility, and in October 2009 the Atlanta Berean Church was named the North American Division’s 2009 Innovative Church of the Year.

The recipient of numerous honors and achievements, Dr. Byrd received the “Chosen Pastor Award” for Atlanta’s Gospel Choice Awards in 2007, which recognizes outstanding pastors in the Metropolitan Atlanta area for their exceptional leadership and community involvement. Additionally, Dr. Byrd was named as one of the prized residents for “Who’s Who in Black Atlanta” for 2008 and 2009, was selected as the Oakwood University Alumnus of the Year for 2008, and in April 2008 he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Dr. Byrd was also selected by the North American Division to be the featured speaker for its Net 2009 Evangelistic Series as aired on the Hope Channel in November 2009.