Reverend, Dr. Byron P. Wess accepted the call into the gospel ministry at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio. He preached his initial sermon in December 1995 and was ordained at Shiloh Baptist Church in Novemeber 1998. Dr. Wess has been married to the Reverend Millicent A. Wess since 1991 and together they are raising a beloved daughter, Dyonna.

Dr. Wess' academic accomplishments are as follows:

• Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology (Summa Cum Laude)
  Ohio Dominican College - 1995
• Master of Divinity degree
  Yale University, Yale Divinity School - 1998
• Master of Theology degree
  Princeton Theological Seminary - 1999
• Doctor of Ministry degree, (Renewal of the Church for Missions)
  Eastern University, Palmer Theological Seminary - 2008

While at Yale, Dr. Wess received the 1996-97 Wolcott-Calkins Prize for preaching and served as Correspondence Secretary of the Yale Black Seminarians, Co-president of the Yale Black Seminarians and Coordinator of the Black Seminarians' Parks/King Lecture. Dr. Wess also served as an Intern Minister at The Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York, and as Pastoral Counselor of Concord Nursing Home.

For over a year, Dr. Wess served as Director of Pastoral Care at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. He then served for more than four years as Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. He returned to serve for more than five years at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens as an Associate Pastor. Dr. Wess is also an Adjunct Professor at Somerset Christian College in Zaraphath, New Jersey.

Most significantly, Dr. Wess is a child of The King, called to proclaim the work of God, instruct the people of God and advance the kingdom of God.