THE REV. WILLIAM A BAKER IV NAMED VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
Starting Aug. 12, 2024, the Rev. William A. Baker IV will serve as Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's vice president for strategic initiatives and continuing education, providing oversight of the PTS Neighborhood Collaborative.
A Pittsburgh native, Baker currently serves on the executive leadership team and as the pastor of family life and discipleship at Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh, where he oversees more than a dozen ministries and a team of lay leaders. He also works as an adjunct professor of Black church history at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary and as assistant chapel preacher and chapel team member at Geneva College. Previously he was the chapel director, theology teacher, and college career counselor at Imani Christian Academy. His additional church leadership includes service as senior pastor at Mount Olive Baptist Church (Rankin, Pa.), as young adult pastor and associate minister at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (North Versailles, Pa.), and as youth pastor at Clark Memorial Baptist Church (Homestead, Pa.).
Baker says: “I’m excited to serve in this capacity at Pittsburgh Seminary because it allows me to combine my mission of servant leadership in the church and academy for the goal of exalting Christ through thoughtful and relevant ministry.”
The PTS Neighborhood Collaborative brings together seven Seminary programs to optimize institutional cooperation and flexibility within the Seminary and to maximize practical impact in neighborhoods locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. The Collaborative includes the Center for Adaptive and Innovative Ministry, Continuing Education, Faith Forming Families Network, Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology, Metro-Urban Institute, Miller Summer Youth Institute, and World Mission Initiative. These outstanding programs and resources represent the Seminary’s commitment to fostering vocational discernment, co-learning, and transformative action for the common good by connecting diverse neighbors locally and globally.
“Rev. Baker knows what it means to do ministry in a neighborhood,” said the Rev. Dr. Asa J. Lee, president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. “He has overseen the fundraising for and renovation of a church edifice, revitalized a Christian Education division at a 2,500-member church during the pandemic, and organized social justice initiatives together with church and civic leaders in the Mon Valley. William knows how to invite conversation in community.”
Baker is a graduate of Oral Roberts University (B.A., New Testament theology) and of Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and is pursuing his Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric studies at Duquesne University. He is a Baptist pastor ordained at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, North Versailles, Pa.