Senior Pastor
Effective June 1, 2014, Pastor Westley West, the former youth Pastor of Israel Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD accepted the call as Senior Pastor of Faith Empowered Ministries Church, Baltimore, MD.
Pastor West’s service in ministry exceeds nine-teen years. He served as Christian Education Director at IBC, and Youth Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church in Baltimore from 2005-2008, and before then he served at the Emmanuel Baptist Church Baltimore, MD as associate minister from 2000-2005, He is a man of excellence endowed with a vision and empowered to tell God’s Message. Pastor West challenges his members to be steadfast and serious about the work of the kingdom.
His educational experience includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Christian Leaders College in Divinity. He has studied Expository Preaching at Huber Memorial Church for Expository Preaching and the MBC&S Conference on Expository Preaching. He is on a pathway, distance learning at Western Theological Seminary, in the Master of Divinity program.
Pastor West’s work and wisdom extend beyond the walls of the church. In 2015 during the wake of Freddie Gray’s death (caused by and while in the hands of Baltimore city police) and the unrest in Baltimore, Pastor West lead a stream of peaceful rallies bringing awareness to both citizens and public servants in Baltimore and Nationwide demanding that justice be served. It was only weeks later that Baltimore realized it had a new strong voice and fresh face to fight for change as he quickly transitioned into the role of an activist which paved his way to becoming the Director of Youth for the Baltimore branch of the Nation Action Network founded by Reverend Al Sharpton and at Reverend Sharpton’s request on April 30, 2015.
Pastor West’s ministry is both prominent and impactful in Ghana, West Africa, Haiti, Ethiopia, and in the Bahamas. He is also in demand and receives many requests to preach citywide and church revivals and to speak at numerous conferences and civic functions. He impacted the lives of many locally and nationally. He was featured in various forms of media, such as, The Baltimore Sun, WJZ Eyewitness News of Baltimore, Fox News, “The Kelly File,” BET, and American Heartland with Dr. Grace Vuoto (radio), to name a few. He served on several panels throughout the DMV area. In December 2018, he became a featured preacher on the largest African-American religious network in the world, The Word Network. He continues his relationship with the network with his own show that launched in February 2019.
Through the proclamation of the Word, Pastor West helps others to examine their lives and to strive to live by God’s Word. He has brought new souls to Christ and has helped others to recommit their lives to God.
Serious and sincere, calm and compassionate, prayerful and persistent, tough and tender, unique and unifying, insightful and inspiring are all terms that may be used to describe Pastor Westley West. More than anything else, Pastor West is a preacher of an uncompromising gospel. He gladly shares the “Good News,” that Christ is alive and the Lord and Savior of all.
Pastor West, is the proud father of one twelve year old child, Jordon.