Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr.

Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., is a native of Coffeyville, Kansas where he was reared in a Christian family and African-American Church environment. He was converted at the age of 16 and preached his Trial Sermon when he was 17 years old. He is married to the Rev. Karen E. (Curry) Stewart and they are the parents of a blended family of five sons, Warren, Jr., Matthew, Jared, Justin, Aaron and two daughters, Jamila Imani and Jessica Elizabeth Curry. He is the grandfather of Warren Josiah, III, Micaiah Lovel, Matthew Christian II, Jonny Angel, Jared Chamberlain II, Kaira Nechee, John Paul Silas, Jase Alexander and Joshua Elijah. He is presently the Senior Pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona and has served there since July 1, 1977. Dr. Stewart was appointed Executive Secretary of the Home Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., in November 1994 and served through January 2005, and also continued serving as Chair of that Board through January 2010.

Dr. Stewart’s academic achievements and awards include anAssociate of Arts Degree, 1971, Honor Graduate, Coffeyville Community Junior College, Coffeyville, Kansas;Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and Philosophy, 1973 graduatingSumma Cum Laude, Bishop College, Dallas, Texas;Master of Divinity Degree, 1976, Union Theological Seminary, New York City;Master of Sacred Theology Degree, 1977, selected to deliver Commencement Address, Union Theological Seminary;Doctor of Ministry Degree, 1982, American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California; was recipient of anHonorary Doctor of Divinity Degreefrom Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kansas, 1994; and the recipient of theAward of Excellence in Black Church Studies, 1982, Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies, Los Angeles, California. Dr. Stewart has also been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations from churches, colleges, civic and community organizations, locally, statewide and nationally. He was recognized byThe Arizona Republicnewspaper as one of the ten most influential religious leaders in the Valley (Phoenix), October 6, 1985,The Phoenix Gazette1993 Hall of Fame as being “one of ten people whose achievements had the most notable effect on . . . Arizona,” theArizona Daily Star(Tucson) as a “Living Legend” on January 20, 2002, 2003 Calvin C. Goode Lifetime Achievement Award by City of Phoenix/MLK, Jr. Celebration, andThe Business Journalas one of 25 “Leaders and Legends” in the business community in 2005.

Dr. Stewart is the author ofINTERPRETING GOD’S WORD IN BLACK PREACHING, published by Judson Press, 1984 and in its fifth printing,HOW TO HANDLE GIANTS: Sermons to African-American Youth and Their Mentors, published by Townsend Press, 1995,Do Prophets Exist in Contemporary Culture?,2009, (self-published), and has published articles and sermons in several major publications. He has also served as Adjunct Professor of Ottawa University-Phoenix Campus, Phoenix Seminary and the Doctor of Ministry Program at Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, California.

Dr. Stewart served as Associate Minister of the Cornerstone Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York, under the pastorate of the late Dr. Sandy F. Ray, in whose honor the Annual Sandy F. Ray Institute for pastors, ministers and lay persons was founded and held annually at First Institutional. At FIBC, Pastor Stewart has licensed 132 sons and daughters into the Gospel Ministry.

Dr. Stewart has traveled and preached extensively throughout the United States and internationally to include 38 States and Territories, and 41 Countries, including a challenging three-week Preaching Mission, sponsored by the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., Foreign Mission Board, to several African countries including South Africa, and attended the First African/African-American Summit held in West Africa in 1991 convened by the late Dr. Leon H. Sullivan. Also, FIBC, under Pastor Stewart, built a new church edifice and parsonage for the First Institutional Baptist Church of Soweto, Republic of South Africa. In April of 2004, he was extended an invitation by Executive Secretary Emile D. E. Sam-Peal to serve as the Guest Preacher during the 90^thAnnual Session of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, Inc. Since February 2005, first participating on Baptist World Alliance Mission Team Trip to North-East India, he has been involved in ministry in India.  Dr. Stewart’s ministry is characterized by an unwavering commitment and Spirit-filled zeal to engage inEvangelism and Emancipation, meeting the needs of the whole person. As a result, since 1982, the First Institutional Baptist Church has intentionally BECOME A DISCIPLING FELLOWSHIP THROUGH EVANGELISM AND EMANCIPATION under the leadership of the Holy Spirit through Dr. Stewart’s pastoral ministry. In the 1990s, he led FIBC in completing three phases of the VISION 2000 Master Plan which built an educational, administrative and outreach building, acquired additional property, and renovated the worship center at a total cost of nearly four million dollars in cash debt-free. In 2004, a five million dollar family life center was builtcompleting the VISION 2000 Master Plan,totaling almost $9,000,000.00. In addition, FIBC has established FIBCO Family Services, Inc., Samaritan House for Homeless Families and Ujima House for Unwed Teenage Mothers and their Infants which provide social service ministries to thousands monthly.

Dr. Stewart served as the first General Chairperson for ARIZONANS FOR A MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. STATE HOLIDAY which contributed significantly to the legislative passage of Arizona’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on September 21, 1989. Dr. Stewart also organized and led VICTORY TOGETHER, INC., a broad-based coalition that campaigned for a Martin Luther King, Jr./Civil Rights Day in Arizona which was won by a historic vote of the people in the general election on November 3, 1992. He has also served as the President of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest and Paradise Missionary Baptist State Convention of Arizona, Inc. and Congress, respectively. In 2011, he organized an Exploratory Committee for the open U.S. Senate from Arizona in 2012 to consider running on a platform of justice. In 2012, Dr. Stewart was elected Chair of the Board of the National Immigration Forum as well as co-formed the Black/Brown Coalition of Arizona.  Dr. Stewart is an enthusiastic advocate of the sanctity of life ethic which believes that all human life has intrinsic value from conception to natural death. He is also recognized by others as “a man of conscience, commitment and dedication to the cause of moral leadership, human rights and a soldier of justice and equality.”