August 11—St. John Missionary Baptist Church of Meridian will welcome its new pastor, Reverend Dr. Ecclesiastes Goodwin Mr. with a week of pastoral installation services beginning Monday, August 22 and continuing through Wednesday, August 24 at 7 p.m.
Monday’s guest speaker will be the Rev. Vincent D. Hopkins, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Forest; Tuesday’s guest speaker will be the Rev. Shaun Croft, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Newton and Wednesday’s guest speaker is the Rev. Dr. Willie E. Jones, pastor of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Morton.
On Saturday starting at 9am there will be a one-day/day-long Vacation Bible School session. There will be classes for young people and adults. After the class sessions, there will be a day of activities that will include bounce houses, food, games and fun.
The week’s pastoral celebration concludes with Sunday services at 10 a.m., with guest preacher Rev. Bennie J. Hopkins Sr. delivering the sermon. At 3 pm, the guest speaker will be Reverend Dr. Bernard Mitchell, pastor of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Mendenhall and chairman of the evening worship services of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
Biography of Reverend Dr. Ecclesiastes Goodwin
Reverend Dr. Ecclesiastes Goodwin, Mr. is a native of Meridian. He is the son of the late Johnny and Yvonne Goodwin and has one sibling: Yolanda Goodwin of Ridgeland, Miss. Pastor Goodwin is married to Lady Christina Goodwin and they have four children: Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes Jr., Elijah and Ethan.
Possessing a commitment to education, Rev. Goodwin graduated from Meridian High School and completed further studies at Meridian Community College.
Recognizing his call to the ministry and the need to prepare, he entered Selma University in Selma, Alabama, where he was recognized as a Presidential Scholar. He continued his educational journey and earned a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Ministries from Southeastern Baptist College in Laurel and received a Master of Education from Belhaven University. In 2013, he received the Doctor of Divinity degree from EL White Theological Seminary.
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At the age of five, Goodwin accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and joined the Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Meridian under the leadership of Reverend Bobby R. Nichols. When he was 19, Goodwin recognized his call to the preaching ministry and preached his commencement sermon in June 2003. He was ordained in June 2004 at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Meridian.
Rev. Goodwin serves as the senior pastor-elect of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Meridian. He is a member of the Meridian/Lauderdale County NAACP Chapter, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity-Gamma Epsilon Sigma Chapter, where he serves as second vice president. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Baptist Convention, Inc. and serves as President of the East Mississippi Baptist State Convention, Inc.
He also serves as an instructor for the Youth Department of the East Mississippi Baptist State Convention, the East Mississippi Baptist State Convention, an instructor for the 2nd District Christian Education Conference in New Hope and other districts.
In addition, he is a certified dean of Christian education under the auspices of the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. He has received several notable awards and honors, including Regional Instructor of the Year, National Baptist. Convention, USA, Inc. Instructor of the Year-East Mississippi Baptist State Convention, Inc., East Mississippi Baptist State Division of Christian Education Humanitarian of the Year and District Business Convention Instructor of the year 2, Dr. David L. Simmons Christian Leadership Award-East Mississippi Baptist State Convention, Inc. In addition, Pastor Goodwin has been recognized by the Meridian Queen City Optimist Club for his outstanding contributions to the city of Meridian.
Reverend Goodwin considers it an honor to be a vessel for Christ in Ministry. He has served in almost every capacity in the church and has adopted the saying “Only what you do for Christ will last.”
