Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson Humbly Accepts the Call to Become Senior Pastor

I was 12 years old when I shared with my mother that I was sick of going to church all day and that I didn’t understand why we had to do it. As an African American single mother who hailed from Louisiana and who had raised her three older children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, I am certain the declaration of her late-in-life precocious daughter was one that caused alarm.

Deaconess Easter Mae Green was known for reminding all of us that “as for her and her house, we WILL serve the Lord.” It was then that we began visiting various Oakland churches and found ourselves in the balcony of a church to which she had previously belonged. The pastor, small in stature but giant in presence, mounted the pulpit that almost touched the ceiling and began preaching slowly and powerfully on verses found in Matthew 28:18-20. He spoke of the church’s mission and the Christian’s responsibility to go out and make disciples. He spoke of helping people who were less fortunate and standing up for those who could not defend themselves.

For the first time, in my 12-year-old mind church had a reason, a divine reason. Our gatherings were not to be just about singing and having a good time in the Lord. But rather there was a purpose and a mandate with a measurable objective.

The doors of the church were opened that Sunday and before I realized it I was walking from the balcony and then down the aisle.

My mother followed, never questioning or chastising my decision. That day we both became members of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr.

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