Doctor of Ministry Spring Opening Worship Service

The Doctor of Ministry Program will kick off the week-long 2022 Spring Intensive for its students, which will include a week of programs geared to uplifting the church, ministers, and the congregants.  This Sping the Opening Worship Service features Bishop Gregory Ingram of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Opening Worship Service is free and open to the public.

Register for the D.Min Opening Worship Service here.

BISHOP GREGORY GERALD MCKINLEY INGRAM was elected and consecrated the 118th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2000. His first appointment was to the Fifteenth Episcopal District, which at the time comprised Angola, Namibia and most of South Africa. In 2004, his second assignment was to the Tenth Episcopal District, which encompasses the State of Texas. On July 4, 2012, during the 49th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference in Nashville, Tenn., Bishop Ingram was assigned to the First Episcopal District, where he presided over seven annual conferences comprising Delaware, New England, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Bermuda. With his retirement from the active ministry the 51st General Conference in July, 2021 Bishop Ingram accepted the invitation to serve as Professor of Leadership and Director of Black Methodism Future Mapping for Payne Theological Seminary.

Committed to the vision he advanced as an aspirant for the Episcopacy, Bishop Ingram has been passionate and intentional in advancing his holistic, multi-dimensional approach to effective living in the three Episcopal Districts he has served. His initial 7-Point Partnership Plan has evolved into a 10-Point Partnership Plan that includes modules on “Health and Healing,” “Stewardship and Fiscal Integrity” and “Church, Community and Civic Involvement.” The 10-Point Partnership Plan has been augmented by Bishop Ingram’s 10 Guideposts strategy for improving every aspect of life for the people of the AME Church. The Guideposts and the latest Partnership Plan have been embraced by and are practiced throughout the First Episcopal District.

Prior to his election to the Episcopacy, Bishop Ingram served as the Senior Minister of Oak Grove African Methodist Episcopal Church in Detroit, Mich. During his 12-and-a-half-year/nearly 13-year pastorate, the church prospered both numerically and financially. Under his compassionate leadership and spiritual direction, 2,600 people united in membership, and more than 1,420 were inspired to become tithers. While pastor of Oak Grove, Bishop Ingram liquidated all church debts, including paying off in five years all costs related to a multi-million-dollar building and expansion project. Upon his election as a bishop, the church treasury was left with more than $1.2 million.

Before being assigned to Oak Grove, Bishop Ingram served as pastor of AME churches in Chicago, Springfield and Alton, Illinois. He also served two years on the religious staff at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Campus.

Bishop Ingram has distinguished himself throughout African Methodism, in particular, and the religious community, in general, for his expertise on stewardship and tithing. He is a dynamic preacher and lecturer. He has authored a number of publications in the Church. Included among them are The S.A.T. Manual on African Methodism: A Study Guide on the Faith, Beliefs, History and Structure of the World’s Oldest Denomination Founded by Blacks, Equipping the Saints for Service, The Joy of Giving More Than Enough and The African Methodist Episcopal Church Pastor’s Journal and Quarterly Conference Record Book.

Bishop Ingram was privileged to chair the General Conference Commission for the 49th Quadrennial Session. He was honored to serve as chairman of the Bicentennial Committee and host bishop for the historic 50th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was held in Philadelphia, PA, the birthplace of the denomination. As chairman of the Bicentennial Celebration, Bishop Ingram was the complier and editor-in-chief for two significant publications: a 365-day devotional, entitled Moments of Meditation: Celebrating the Bicentennial of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and The Encyclopedia of African Methodism: Bicentennial Edition.

Additionally, Bishop Ingram was the visionary behind the Richard Allen Statue and Memorial Courtyard at Mother Bethel AME Church, as well as the 25-by-45-foot mural of Bishop Richard Allen that graces the exterior of First District Plaza at 38th and Market streets in Philadelphia, where the First Episcopal District is headquartered. Installation of the mural was guided by Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall Ingram, First District Episcopal Supervisor, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Bishop Ingram holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilberforce University, a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from Antioch College, a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. His religious, civic, community, professional and social affiliations, past and present are many. Bishop Ingram has been privileged to serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees of The African Methodist Episcopal Church, Inc., as well as board chair of Payne Theological Seminary. He is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and is a Thirty-Third Degree Mason-Prince Hall Affiliation.

Bishop Ingram is married to Rev. Dr. Jessica Kendall Ingram. They are the proud parents of one daughter and a beloved son-in-law, Jennifer Eman Keanne and Gregory McCoy, and grandparents of two treasured granddaughters, Jayda Eman and Gabrielle.