Reverend dr. marcus d. tillery
The Reverend Dr. Marcus D. Tillery serves as the Pastor of the historic Ransom Pentecostal AME Zion Church in London, England. He is a passionate educator and community activist with over 20 years of experience in the ministry of the Gospel.
Dr. Tillery was born and raised in the small, family farm tradition of rural eastern North Carolina. He joined the Tillery Chapel Missionary Baptist Church at an early age and was baptized there in 1974. In 1997, he joined the Haw River Missionary Baptist Church and formally accepted the call to the ministry in 1999 under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Junious Jones. Dr. Tillery delivered his initial sermon there in early 2000, was subsequently licensed to preach in 2001 and began serving as the associate minister.
Dr. Tillery served as the Interim Pastor of the historic First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Brook Presbyterian Church in Hillburn, New York. Prior to his tenure at Ransom Pentecostal, he served as Senior Pastor of the Community Church of East Williston, a vibrant and historic community of faith nestled in the urban-suburban landscape of Long Island, New York.
Dr. Tillery is an alumnus of North Carolina A&T State University where he earned the Bachelor of Science in Applied Engineering Technology. He earned the Masters of Science and the Ph.D from Iowa State University of Science and Technology in Ames, Iowa. He went on to serve as a professor of engineering technology and administratively as Department Chair, Dean, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr Tillery earned the Masters of Divinity degree at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 2017 as a capstone for a life of service in Christ and his calling to preach and teach the Gospel.
Dr. Tillery has lived in four countries and taught on five continents including time spent working on Native American reservations and refugee resettlements. His experience both as an academician, consulting engineer and as a pastor has afforded the opportunity to live and work in diverse (socially, racially, economically, geographically) environments where the realities of historical and current vestiges of privilege still impact communities in deleterious ways. Over the course of his career, Dr. Tillery has pastored, mentored and counselled people from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences, including women and members of typically underrepresented groups in engineering, technology, science and theology. Additionally, he has an acute understanding of the hardships and barriers imposed on the sojourners of today.
Dr. Tillery thrives at the interface of faith, technology and social change focused on the application of the principles of social justice and racial equity. He regularly contributes a faith perspective to the national and international conversation addressing the impact of science and technology on oppressed communities, working tirelessly in support of indigenous knowledge innovation and rural technology development. He served as consulting engineer as part of a development project to rebuild the energy production infrastructure of Zimbabwe. Dr. Tillery has led international study and service teams across the globe utilizing technology to advance the learning needs of the physically and intellectually disadvantaged including children suffering autism spectrum disorders in Nigeria and West Africa.
At his core Dr. Tillery is a child of the Civil Rights Movement and has raised his voice in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement as an outspoken critic of police violence. He served as a core member of the leadership team of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association engaging the Congressional Black Caucus in dialogue on the struggle to preserve Black Family farms.
Dr. Tillery maintains an active partnership with the Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network to address healthcare inequity, the cost-of-living crisis and the statelessness imposed on immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. He has dedicated his life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through spirit filled worship, loving fellowship, community outreach, and Biblical understanding and application of scientific and technological innovation in support of the public interest.
Dr Tillery possesses a collaborative spirit, the entrepreneurial drive, and the ethical and moral compass necessary to lead in today’s challenging times. His career is highlighted by unique abilities to vision, develop and lead innovative enterprises, build sustainable partnerships and drive strategic deployment to champion the mission and vision of Ransom Pentecostal and the AME Zion Church.
Dr. Tillery is the proud father of four, Teon, Kharmika, Marcus II and Kaya and values family as his foundation and the source of his inspiration to serve all of God’s children.