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The Rev. Dr. Bill McGill is Senior Pastor of the Imani Baptist Temple in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Called to the ministry while only a junior in High School, he has been in the preaching ministry for nearly four decades.  He also serves as the Executive Pastor of One Church-One Offender, a nationally recognized faith-based alternative sentencing program, and is Past-President of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Branch of the NAACP.

 

Dr. McGill has long been recognized as a leader in the faith community’s response to the various social dilemmas confronting our nation.  In November 1993, he was one of 14 clergy invited to a White House meeting with President Clinton for the specific purpose of developing a faith response to the HIV/AIDS crisis.  Since 1999, his focus has been on restorative justice and under his leadership One Church-One Offender has enjoyed a cumulative success rate of 93%.  In 2003, Nobel Laurent Archbishop Desmond Tutu praised the program as one that “brings tears to the eyes of God.”

 

A frequent keynoter at regional & national conferences, Dr. McGill often suggests that social outreach and the work of the local church are natural ties rather than conflicting ones.  It is his contention that “the whole tradition of Biblical theology is wrapped up in the principle of compassion for individuals who are suffering.  And like the lepers of old, those suffering from various social and economic ills have been relegated to the very fringes of modern society and God holds the Church responsible for serving as their balm in Gilead.”

 

Dr. McGill had under-graduate studies at Liberty University, and is currently working toward his Master of Divinity at United Theological Seminary.  He is a graduate of the 2001 Summer Leadership Institute of the Harvard School of Divinity, and in 1996,

Aspen College of the Bible & Theological Seminary awarded him the Doctor of Letters. 

 

A recipient of numerous accolades for his dedicated service to human rights, he was commissioned a “Kentucky Colonel” by Governor Paul Patton of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and an “Arkansas Traveler” by Governor Mike Huckabee of the State of Arkansas; NAACP Distinguished Service Award; Liberty Bell Award-Allen County Bar Association; and, Great Men Award-Indiana/Purdue Fort Wayne.

 

A prolific writer, his first book “Lessons from the Desert” sold more than 2,500 copies.    

 

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