The Reverend William D. Watley, Ph.D.

  

          The Reverend William D. Watley, Ph.D. is the beloved Senior Pastor of the historic St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, NJ. Under his leadership, St. James has grown spiritually, numerically, and financially.  Membership has tripled, the number of weekly worship services has doubled, and the annual church income has increased by 700%.   

            Dr. Watley’s ministry is characterized by a multifaceted approach that aims to provide holistic care to those he serves.  To this end, he established the St. James Social Services Corporation which oversees a daily feeding program and food pantry that dispenses over 89,000 meals annually, a clothes closet that distributes over 20,000 articles of clothing per year, an Intergenerational After School Care Program and Safe Haven Summer Peace Camp for children, as well as various emergency service, mentoring, literacy and employment training programs for adults. Dr. Watley is the visionary and founder of St. James Preparatory School, a state of the art Christian middle and high school for grades 7-12 with a 100% college acceptance rate and the only high school built from the ground by the AME Church during the 20th century.  He was instrumental in forming a partnership between New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine, University Hospital and St. James Church to bring the University Center for Family Medicine to the St. James Prep campus.  In addition, Dr. Watley is the chairperson of the Board of Directors for the 220 unit St. James Towers. 

            Dr. Watley is an innovative worship leader who has made the Wednesday “Sweet Hour of Praise” Service world renown for its dynamic worship and inspirational messages.  This service has become a model for other ministries across the nation.  Now in its sixteenth year, the service has grown from one worshipper to nearly eight hundred weekly.  Most recently, Dr. Watley has launched his 1 church in 2 locations initiative by adding a contemporary, multicultural Sunday worship service which is held at the Movie Theatre in West Orange’s Essex Green Mall.  In addition, a Dot.com ministry was implemented to execute Dr. Watley’s vision for a global ministry.  Dot.com has made weekly worship services, sermons, bible studies, and prayers easily accessible to the masses via the internet where viewers from over 45 countries regularly log on.

            A preacher par excellence, Dr. Watley’s homiletical ability is both nationally and internationally recognized. He has the distinction of being the Conference Preacher for the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference for two consecutive years as well as a Conference Lecturer.   At the invitation of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., Dr. Watley preached to over 20,000 people at their annual fall convention.  He was a lecturer for the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church’s Pastor’s Conference held at Philips School of Theology.  Dr. Watley has preached at the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, as well as Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Men Are Builders Conference.  Moreover, Dr. Watley has preached on the continents of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America in addition to the island nations of Cuba, Barbados, Bahamas, Bermuda, and Trinidad. 

            A mentor and educator, Dr. Watley served as President and Distinguished Professor of Religion of Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas.  He was a visiting professor at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary as well as a guest lecturer at Harvard University, Payne and Turner Theological Seminaries. 

            A prolific author, Dr. Watley has written sixteen books and has authored several booklets and articles throughout the past two decades.  He is the founder and C.E.O. of New Seasons Press, the publishing division of William Watley Ministries.

            In January 2002, Dr. Watley was the first African American to be appointed
Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce & Economic
Growth Commission responsible for implementing considerable aspects of New
Jersey’s economic policy. He led the first trade mission from New Jersey to South Africa and convened the first state-wide conference on Commerce for New Jersey’s business community.  Over 1500 business persons participated.

            Dr. Watley has served as both a member and officeholder for several prominent organizations over the last twenty years.  An ecumenical leader, Dr. Watley served as the Associate General Secretary of the Council on Church Union (COCU), a member of the Missions Unit for the World Council of Churches (WCC), and a member of the Governing Board for the National Council of Churches (NCC).   He served on the Board of Directors for Beth Israel and Horizon/Mercy Hospitals, the United Negro College Fund and the Fund for Theological Education.  In addition, he was a member of the Advisory Boards for First Union Bank, the African American Pulpit, and the Interpreter’s Bible Commentaries. 

            Dr. Watley received his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from St. Louis University and a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center.  He received a Master of Philosophy and his Doctor of Philosophy in Ethics from Columbia University. In addition, he completed post-doctoral work at the Ecumenical Institute in Celigny, Switzerland and Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management.

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