Dr. Michael P. Williams, Founding Pastor

Dr. Michael P. Williams is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and a third generation Baptist pastor.  He holds the Bachelor of Arts degree from Westminster College (Fulton, Missouri), the Master of Divinity degree from Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut), and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas).  He is also the recipient of two honorary degrees.

For thirty-five (35) years, Dr. Williams has served as the Senior Pastor for two congregations: East End Baptist Tabernacle (Bridgeport, Connecticut), Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ (Houston, Texas), and the Founding Pastor of JOY Baptist Tabernacle (Houston, Texas)

In almost twenty-five (25) years, he has led JOY Tabernacle to a place of prominence among churches in the Greater Houston Area.  With a historic relocation to the heart of inner-city Houston, JOY’s impact on Houston and the nation will be even greater in the future!

Dr. Williams has a national reputation as an exemplary and effective community leader, teacher, and thinker.  He is a powerful preacher and dynamic motivational speaker, much in demand in pulpits, on college campuses and at conventions across the nation.  The Houston Chronicle said this regarding Dr. Williams’ preaching ability; “Williams combines a polished Ivy League knowledge of the Bible with an earthy, passionate preaching style.”

Dr. Williams has preached in thirty-seven (37) of the fifty (50) states, three (3) continents, and in the Middle East.  However, Houston has been the prime beneficiary of some of the nation’s most impacting preaching and teaching.  Dr. Williams ministers on weekly television (“A Celebration of JOY!”), and for over a decade he shared the Good News of Jesus Christ on “The Gateway to JOY!”  This daily proclamation of God’s Word was the most listened to radio broadcast to the African-American religious community!

In 1994, Dr. Williams was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College, honored as a “Distinguished Preacher whose proclamation and community service exemplifies the social ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”  This citation lauded Dr. Williams as the “Pastoral genius of the American pulpit”

The influence of Dr. Michael P. Williams has extended into the secular world as well.  Upon the election of Houston’s first African-American mayor in 1997, Dr. Williams was selected as a member of then Mayor-Elect Lee Brown’s Transition Team.  He is the founder of HOPE for Houston, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 agency committed to serving at-risk youth and their families. 

In 1999, the Houston Defender named Dr. Williams one of the “Big 15”, the top fifteen African-American pastors in Houston.  They cited him as a leader whose “involvement in the community in the religious, business, and political arenas coupled with his overall influence crosses ethnic and economic classes.”

In 1999 Dr. Williams was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Houston Community College System. Houston Community College is the largest educational institution in the Gulf Coast region with over 60,000 students enrolled.  Dr. Williams was elected to represent District 4, the most ethnically and economically diverse district in the system.  In his first attempt at elective office, Dr. Williams received a landslide 60% of the vote over the incumbent office holder!  He was re-elected without opposition in 2005.

Dr. Williams has served on the faculty at the Houston Graduate School of Theology where he taught courses in Preaching, Evangelism, and Urban Ministry.  He has also served on the faculties of the Sacred Heart University (Connecticut), the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut), and the African-American Studies Department at the University of Houston.  He has been a guest speaker at Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Rice University, Morehouse College, University of Texas, Texas Christian University, Yale University, and Princeton University.

 Dr. Williams was included in the inaugural edition of “Who’s Who in Black Houston” and is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, Inc. Dr. Williams is the recipient of many awards and recognitions, too numerous to mention. He is also the author of numerous articles in professional and popular periodicals, as well as the author of three books. His latest is titled The Effective Preacher. (Due for publication in Spring of 2010)

Dr. Williams is married to the former Donna J. Morton of Detroit, Michigan.  They have three (3) adult children and two (2) grandchildren.