Reverend Doctor Vernon C. Walton
The greatest reward for Reverend Vernon C. Walton came the day that he preached his first sermon. Today, as Senior Pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church of Englewood, New Jersey, Walton's primary mission is to “make a difference in our community and be a light of hope for the world.” Simply stated, Mount Calvary is “A Church Committed to Christ and His Cause.”
He earned the Doctor of Ministry Degree from the United Theological Seminary of Dayton, Ohio in December 2003. Walton has been a life-long student of the Word. Born and raised in Jersey City, he received the call during his high school years, which he later answered as a college student. Upon earning his license to preach in 1989 and becoming ordained in 1993, he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology & Criminal Justice from Virginia Union University and enrolled in the New York Theological Seminary. By 1997, he received his Master of Divinity Degree and began his journey on the path to ministry.
Armed with drive and education, Walton flourished under the tutelage of the late Reverend H. Hudson Bobbitt. “Reverend Bobbitt was an exceptional minister and mentor to me. He played an active role in my development and entrusted me to stand in his place whenever possible,” he notes. Walton began his ecclesiastical career at Salem Baptist Church in Jersey City as Associate Minister and made his rounds in general pastoral care. He would later join St. James Baptist Church of Milford, Virginia as Minister of Youth and Young Adults.
During 1995, Walton joined the Washington, D.C.-based Congress of National Black Churches where he was responsible for administrating the Roche/Paterson Black Church Family Initiative. In conjunction with his year-long tenure with the Congress, he joined Mount Olive Baptist Church of Hackensack, New Jersey as Youth Pastor and later filled the position of Assistant Pastor in 1996. While acting as Mount Olive's Chairman of the Youth Advisory Board, his duties afforded him the opportunity to oversee the activities of the scholarship and education committees and assist the church's Senior Pastor with meeting the needs of their 1,900-member parish.
In 1998, Reverend Walton was honored to accept the position of Senior Pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church. As the church's fourth Pastor in its 50 year history, he has remained committed to building upon Mount Calvary's family-oriented environment.
Ever mindful of the importance of service and community, Walton has implemented Mount Calvary's Community Development Corporation, Calvary Cares and spearheads the church's efforts in providing an After-School Program as well as a community-wide back-to-school supply party for its youth members. He is a member of the “Break the Cycle” Scholarship Committee and manages the Bergen County's Community Action Program, “Time and Talents,” which offers mentorship to former recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the first faith based collaboration of its kind in the state of New Jersey.
Voted among Gospel Today 's “most loved pastors” of 2001, Walton is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. To his credit, he has been honored with the NAACP's Edward P. Dixon Award for Community Service as well as Humanitarian Awards from the National Conference for Community and Justice and the Jabari Society of Bergen County. Most notable, however, was being selected as one of the “20 To Watch” under forty by the African American Pulpit Journal, (Summer 2005), the Premiere African American Preaching Journal.
In addition to his pastoral duties, Reverend Walton serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Ramapo College. He is currently serving the citizens of Bergen County as a Chosen Freeholder. Reverend Walton also acts as Director of Christian Education for the North Jersey Missionary Baptist Association. An active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., he lends his time and expertise as Treasurer of the Black Clergy Council for Englewood, Teaneck and Vicinity, and Chaplain for Englewood's Police & Fire Departments.
Based in Englewood, New Jersey, Reverend Vernon C. Walton loves his role as preacher and teacher.
