Rev. Dr. Otis J. Gordon, Jr.

Warren A.M.E. Church

The Rev. Dr. Otis J. Gordon, Jr., co-chair of the Toledo Community Coalition, is pastor of Warren A.M.E. Church in Toledo, Ohio. He has served as Pastor to the following congregations: Bethel A.M.E. Church, Massillon, Ohio; Spelman Chapel A.M.E. Church, Kent, Ohio; Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, Cleveland, Ohio; Presiding Elder of the Cleveland District, and Grace A.M.E. Church, Warren, Ohio.

Reverend Gordon has adopted as his personal mission statement a quote from the Apostle Paul, who stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). With God’s help, Reverend Gordon has led hundreds of individuals to accept Christ as their personal savior.

While serving at Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church in Cleveland, Reverend Gordon led the congregation in purchasing land for an additional parking lot, paying off a parsonage mortgage, building an addition onto the church, and completely renovating the church’s interior, including installing central air conditioning. During his tenure at Grace A.M.E. Church in Warren, Ohio, two additions were added to the church, and the interior of the building was completely renovated and made handicap assessable, including the addition of an elevator. The parking lot was also paved.

During Reverend Gordon’s leadership at Warren A.M.E. Church in Toledo, the parking lot was re-paved, the roof was replaced, and a $1.7 building for senior citizens was constructed after establishing a nonprofit 501(c) 3 called Warren A.M.E. Church Vision Empowerment Board (VEB).

Reverend Gordon is a product of the Youngstown Public School system. He graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio, with a Masters of Divinity degree, with a concentration in theology. He received a Doctor of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

His doctorial project examined the spiritual journey of Abraham as a model of spiritual growth and development. Utilizing the models of spiritual formation of the early church fathers and others, Dr. Gordon argued for the paramount need to re-ignite spiritual formation in the post-Modern church.

As a member of the Third Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Reverend Gordon has served the Connectional Church as a member of the Preliminary Inquiry Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Episcopal Committee. He has served on numerous committees in the Third District.

In the Toledo area, Dr. Gordon has served as a former member of the Lucas County Head Start Task Force Committee charged with analyzing and identifying quality Head Start models for Lucas County, and served with the Lucas County Workforce Development Agency. He is a past board chair of the Fredrick Douglass Community Association, Inc.; former member of Toledoans United for Social Action (TUSA), and past board chair of Toledo Area Ministries (TAM).

Currently, Dr. Gordon community affiliations include membership in the NAACP, vice-chair of the board of the Learning Club of Toledo, Methodist Minister’s Affiliation (MMA), the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Toledo and Vicinity (IMA), and Neighborhood Properties, Inc. (NPI). He is also a 33 Degree Mason and a member of Amazon Lodge #4, Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons.

Reverend Gordon is a founding member of the Toledo Community Coalition (TCC).

He is married to the former Debra Rita Gosphery of Massillon, Ohio. He has four sons: Otis James III, Timothy John, James Terrell, and Christopher Otis. He and Debra are the proud grandparents to nine grandchildren.