Biography
The Reverend Elijah Llewellyn McDavid III is a passionate disciple, dynamic preacher, and cultural architect. Since September 2020, Pastor McDavid has proudly served as Senior Pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis.
Under Pastor McDavid’s leadership, the church has grown from 500 to 1,500 members and a new youth center is under construction to provide after school programming, mental health care, and worship opportunities for all ages. Fellowship’s rapidly growing ministry offerings support the church’s mission to advocate for the vulnerable and combat economic, educational, and health disparities. To that end, in February 2021, Fellowship became the first faith-based, Covid-19 vaccination site in the state of Minnesota.
Pastor McDavid received his Master of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary (Columbia University) in New York City, and while there, held the distinction of being the James Forbes Scholar. He is also a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Pastor McDavid is a native of Arlington, Virginia, and prior to coming to Fellowship, he served on the pastoral staff of the Alfred Street Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia. In July 2012, he became the youngest person to be licensed to ministry in the 200-year history of Alfred Street.
Biography
The Reverend Elijah Llewellyn McDavid III is a passionate disciple, dynamic preacher and cultural architect. He proudly serves as the pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This dynamic congregation sits as a beacon of hope in North Minneapolis and is committed to sharing love throughout the Twin Cities. Under Pastor McDavid’s leadership Fellowship has provided groceries, Christmas toys, utility and rent assistance to hundreds of Minnesota families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pastor McDavid received his Master of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary (Columbia University) in New York City and while there held the distinction of being the James Forbes Scholar. He is also a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Before coming to Fellowship, Rev. McDavid served on the pastoral staff of the Alfred Street Baptist Church of Alexandria, VA, the First Corinthian Baptist Church of Harlem, NY, and the First Iconium Baptist Church of Atlanta, GA. Rev. McDavid also worked as the content director for ROHO, a multimedia source for sermons and inspiration. During his time at ROHO, he oversaw content development for over two million monthly subscribers.
Rev. McDavid is the only child of Elijah & Lynne McDavid Jr. who raised him in Arlington, VA. He is blessed to walk in the spiritual lineage of his grandfather, the late Rev. Dr. Coolidge Johnson, a pastor and civil rights leader in South Carolina. Pastor McDavid received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior in 2004 at the Second Baptist Church of Falls Church, VA, where he was baptized by the late Rev. Dr. James E. Browne. While at Second Baptist, he was mentored by the late Deaconess Sandra Eskridge and the late Chad Terry who nurtured his gifts for public speaking. Years later he yielded to God’s call and in July 2012 he became the youngest person to be licensed to ministry in the 200-year history of the Alfred Street Baptist Church.