Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks

Biography

The Reverend Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., is Pastor Emeritus of the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. He was elected Pastor in June 1977, served as the fifth senior minister in the congregation’s longstanding history, and named Pastor Emeritus in 2014. During his 37-year pastorate, Metropolitan developed into one of the world’s foremost Christian congregations, distinguished by its fervent worship and dynamic preaching.

Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. established an undisputed reputation for accomplished and innovative initiatives that further cultivated the partnership between the church and community. Among these exemplary efforts were: the Metropolitan/Delta Adult Literacy Council, a project that provides adult literacy enrichment for community residents; the Metropolitan Day School, with an Afro-centric Christian learning experience, for students at levels pre-K through 8; The Garment’s Hem, an expansive non-profit group dedicated to addressing psychological and emotional health via Christ-centered counseling and therapy; and the Metropolitan Community Development Corporation (MCDC), engaging in community and economic development concerns in Washington, D.C., and the State of Maryland. To facilitate the success of these ministry efforts, Dr. Hicks partnered with an intriguing mosaic of corporate directors, corporate operations executives, commercial bankers, educators, and social service providers to establish a leadership model for community-based faith organizations.

Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. is President of Kerygma Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in church leadership development and team-building, and President of the Martin Luther King Fellows, Inc. Dr. Hicks is also a prolific writer and is widely published in religious publications. He has authored several books; the most recent of which are On Jordan’s Stormy Banks [2004], Prophetic Business [2002], My Soul’s Been Anchored [1998], and Preaching Through A Storm [1987, 12th printing]. In November 1993, Ebony Magazine honored Dr. Hicks with the designation of one of America’s “Fifteen Greatest African American Preachers.”

Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. is an honors graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. A recipient of the Rockefeller Protestant Fellowship, Dr. Hicks graduated from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in May 1967. Selected as one of the original Martin Luther King Fellows at the Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1972, he earned the Doctor of Ministry in Theology degree in 1975. His dissertation, Images of the Black Preacher: The Man Nobody Knows, was subsequently published by Judson Press in 1977. In 1994 Dr. Hicks received the coveted Merrill Fellowship for post-graduate study at Harvard’s Divinity School. In 1999, Dr. Hicks earned the Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University.

Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. was licensed and ordained to the Gospel ministry by Mount Olivet Baptist Church of Columbus, Ohio, and served successfully as Senior Minister of Second Baptist Church, Mumford, New York; Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Hicks, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the son of the late Reverend Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Sr., and the late Mrs. Eleanor Frazier Hicks. He is married to the former Elizabeth Harrison of Selma, Alabama. They are the parents of H. Beecher III, the Reverend Ivan Douglas, and Kristin Elizabeth Hicks and they are the proud grandparents of twin girls, Austynn and Ashley, their sister Anya Madison and grandsons H. Beecher IV, and Harrison Patton Hicks.

Speaking Engagements

Sunday, February 02, 2020Sunday, January 07, 2018Sunday, March 20, 2016