Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 1982
Senior Pastor, St. John African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Aurora, Illinois
Rev. Jesse D. Hawkins, Jr. is Senior Pastor of St. John African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Aurora, Illinois. The oldest Black church west of Chicago, St. John traces its history back to 1862. It was at this time that seven Black faithful Christian men and women saw a need to establish a church community in the area. Rev. Hawkins has served St. John since September, 1982.
Rev. Hawkins attended Garrett-Evangelical from 1978 to 1982 and, in the 1979-80 academic year, received a Benjamin E. Mays Ministerial Fellowship. He graduated in 1982 with an M.Div. and began his ministry at St. John AME a few months after graduation.
The Center for the Church and the Black Experience 