John M. Perkins

John Perkins Speaks on Christianity and Public Service Sept. 28 in Lesesne Auditorium

Dr. John Perkins, known for launching Voice of Calvary Ministries and Mendenhall Ministries, will open the Erskine Theological Seminary's Erskine Lectures Thursday as he addresses the subject of "Christianity and Public Service." He will speak at 11 a.m. in Lesesne Auditorium during Erskine Convocation.

Perkins was born in New Hebron, Miss., the child of a sharecropper. He moved to Pasadena, Calif., in 1947 and became an organizer and steward in the Iron Workers Union. He married Vera Mae Buckley in 1951 and served in the Korean Conflict from 1951-53. He cites 1957 as the year he became a Christian.

Ordained a Baptist minister in Monrovia, Calif., in 1958, in 1960 Perkins returned to Mendenhall, Miss., to begin a ministry there. In 12 years, he helped start a day care center, a youth program, a church, an adult education program, a cooperative farm, a thrift store, a housing repair ministry, and a health center. Mendenhall Ministries continues today under the leadership of Artis Fletcher.

Perkins and his family moved to Jackson, Miss., in 1972, where they founded Voice of Calvary Ministries, another Christian community development ministry. Voice of Calvary Ministries started a church, a health center, a leadership development program, a thrift store, a low-income housing development, and a training center. Voice of Calvary's initiatives bore fruit in other development projects in neighboring towns. Voice of Calvary is now led by the Rev. Phillip K. Reed.

Pasadena, Calif., was the next ministry site for Perkins, and there he founded Harambee Christian Family Center after moving to the high-crime northwest area of the city in 1982. The Center runs numerous programs, including after school tutoring, Good News Bible Clubs, a computer learning center, a summer day camp, a youth internship program, and a college scholarship program. Perkins's son Derek now serves as executive director.

In 1989 Perkins helped form the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), which attracted more than 300 participants to its first conference. Today CCDA has more than 600 organizational members and 3,000 individual members in more than 100 cities across the United States.

Perkins has been recognized for his work with honorary doctorates from Wheaton College, Gordon College, Huntington College, Spring Arbor College, Geneva College, Northpark College, and Belhaven College. He is the author of nine books, including A Quiet Revolution, Let Justice Roll Down, and He's My Brother. He has been a featured lecturer for numerous conferences, including Promise Keepers and the National Assoociation of Evangelicals.

Perkins is the first of several scheduled speakers in the Erskine Lectures, sponsored by Erskine Theological Seminary and offered to both the college and seminary communities at Erskine Convocation, held at 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Also coming up this year at Erskine Seminary are the Missions Conference, Ford Lectures, and Spring Conference, the latter including the Whitesides Institute and the Robinson Lectures.