Pastor's Bio - Alfred Street Baptist Church

Come As You Are (CAYA) worship service is held on the first Wednesday of every month. In addition, a program that raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ – the AWANA program – begun in September 2009. Also, in September 2009, a Saturday worship service was added, increasing the number of worship services to three; a Senior’s Bible study, Men’s Bible study, Praying with the Pastor and Coffee with the Pastor have also been added to the spiritual programs of the church. He has begun the Christian Life Institute, offering courses throughout the year to help members address relevant life issues and to help with growth in spiritual development as disciples.

Under the leadership of Dr. Wesley, the Mission Ministry has placed more emphasis on domestic violence awareness, breast cancer support, mentoring programs and after incarceration assistance. He has led a delegation of Alfred Street missionaries to New Orleans to minister to pastors, the homeless and families in need; led the congregation in a Month of Community Service involving nearly 90% of the congregation in daily community services; and in July 2010 sent a delegation to Haiti to begin the rebuilding of homes after the January earthquake. Also under his leadership, Pastor Wesley led the church to purchase property adjacent to the church that kept affordable housing in historical Olde Town Alexandria.

Dr. Wesley has preached in Johannesburg, South Africa for the Progressive National Baptist Convention and is a member of the Pastoral Excellence Program with the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Convention.

Reverend Dr. Howard-John Wesley represents the fourth generation of Baptist preachers in his family. The son of the late Rev. Dr. Alvin J. Wesley and Dr. Helene J. Wesley, he acknowledged and accepted his calling into the Gospel ministry at the age of sixteen and was licensed to preach in 1989. He was ordained in 1997 at his father’s church, the Hermon Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois by the Greater New Era Baptist District Association of the Baptist General State Convention of Illinois. He has also served on the staff of the Orange Grove Baptist Church of Durham, NC and the Concord Baptist Church of Boston, MA.

Dr. Wesley is a 1994 magna cum laude graduate of Duke University where he double majored in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. After his first year in medical school, he yielded to God’s call once again and walked away from a medical career to attend seminary in preparation for serving God’s people. He attended the Boston University School of Theology where he was a Martin L. King, Jr. Scholar and a 1997 summa cum laude graduate