Senior pastor Rodney S. Patterson
Pastor Rodney S. Patterson is a native of Chicago, Illinois. Rodney graduated from Hales Franciscan High School in 1977. Rodney’s service in ministry began under the tutelage of Pastor Gordon A. Humphrey Sr. Rodney began preaching in July of 1977 and Pastor Humphrey Sr. officiated his ordination, held at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, in August of 1986.
Upon visiting Vermont for a job interview, Rodney realized that there were no black churches in the state. With guidance from Pastor and Mrs. Humphrey Sr., Rodney began holding worship services and in 1989, he founded New Alpha Missionary Baptist Church, the first black church in the state of Vermont. New Alpha is still in existence today. With support from Pastor and Mrs. Humphrey, Sr., and after beginning worship services in 1993, Rodney went on to establish a second church, Ebenezer Baptist Church of Lansing, Michigan, in 1994. Alongside his brother-in-law, Bishop Gordon Humphrey Jr.,
Rodney was instrumental in establishing Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Stockton, California. He served as the Executive Pastor at Olivet Stockton and at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church of Oakland, Ca. In 2007, Rodney returned home to work alongside his brother-in-law, the late Gordon Humphrey, Jr., as Co-Pastor of ShilohMissionary Baptist Church. In January 2015, the church affirmed Rodney’s transition to the role of interim pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Then, on March 17, 2015 Rodney Patterson was confirmed as Pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.
Rodney’s work history includes more than 36 years establishing himself as a notable facilitator and trainer in the areas of diversity, race, and employee engagement. He has also worked as a teacher at the elementary and high school levels, which included a position teaching at his Alma Mata, Hales Franciscan High School. He would eventually go on to become President at Hale’s Franciscan.
In addition to his role as Pastor, Rodney is the Diversity Resource for Farm Credit bank and the CEO of The Learner's Group consulting firm. Rodney was a contributing author on the book, Men to Men: Perspectives of Sixteen African-American Christian Men, published by Zondervan in 1996. His chapter entitled, “Male Bonding: Men Relating to Men” is still a relevant piece of literature today. Rodney released his first book, Trumping the Race Card - A National Agenda: Moving Beyond Race and Racism, that was published in 2015. Rodney is currently working on his next book entitled "Who is your Judas?" Rodney has been married to his wife Dr. Charlene “Humphrey” Patterson for over 32 years.
