LEADERSHIP
REV. DR. THERESA McLEAN HOLMES
Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Theresa McLean Holmes, a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, currently resides in Fayetteville, NC. Her journey in ministry and leadership is marked by numerous significant achievements and a steadfast commitment to her faith and community.
Rev. Dr. Holmes was raised in a devout family, being the third child of Howard and the late Litha Baldwin McLean. She used her love for the game of basketball to earn a scholarship to St. Augustine College (now University) in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She furthered her education at the Christian Life School of Theology, obtaining both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry Degree.
Her early spiritual foundation was rooted in both the United Holy Church of America, Inc., and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC); however, in 1976, she joined New St. John AMEC in Goldsboro, where she nurtured her spiritual growth. In 1992, she accepted her call to the ministry and was ordained as an Itinerant Deacon in 1995 and an Itinerant Elder in 1997 at the AMEC. With 33 years in ministry, she made history when she was appointed by Bishop James Levert Davis in May 2023, as the first female Pastor of St. Luke AMEC, in Fayetteville, NC, in its almost 150-year history.
Throughout her career, Rev. Dr. Holmes has worked diligently and served in various roles within the AMEC. She is a member of the Finance Committee for the Southern District and the North Carolina Annual Conference. She also serves as a Member, Instructor and former Registrar for the Board of Examiners of the NC Conference. In February 2020, she made history as the first female Treasurer for the North Carolina Annual Conference, appointed by Bishop James Levert Davis and in July 2023, she was appointed as the first female Chairperson of the NC Conference Board of Examiners.
Rev. Dr. Holmes has also been actively involved in leadership roles within the Women In Ministry; Coordinator for the North Carolina Annual Conference Women In Ministry (NC/WIM); and the NC Conference District Caucus Leader for NC/WIM. She has also served as Secretary and Treasurer for NC/WIM.
Other committees she served on include the NC Conference Board of Trustees and the Community Development Corporation for the Second Episcopal District (Secretary), Faith and Fairness in Justice Task Force, Level Up Campaign, Resolution Committee for both District and Annual Conferences, Presiding Elders’Assessment, and Church Growth.
In 1999 she was honored to have been chosen by the late Bishop Vinton R. Anderson as a candidate for the Young Leaders Conference at the World Methodist Evangelism Institute for the World Methodist Council (Order of the Flame).
However, Rev. Dr. Holme’s most cherished roles has been shepherding God's people, the most influential, God pleasing, spirit-filled position which she has held. The five Churches she has been blessed to pastor along with St Luke AMEC, Fayetteville, NC are St. John AMEC,Selma, NC; her home church New St. John AMEC, Goldsboro, NC; Mt. Calvary AMEC, Navassa, NC; and in May 2014, she was appointed to St. James AMEC, Castle Hayne, NC, by Bishop William DeVeaux Sr., where she made history for being the first female pastor of that church.
As she continues to mature in the Lord, God continues to elevate her to greater heights and new dimensions. She is known for her love of God, her leadership, diverse music, her gallant smile, and her diligence to building the Kingdom of God and being about her Father's Business.
Dr. Holmes is the proud mother of Markita and is lovingly called “Nana” by her two grandchildren, A’Niya and Jayce.