The Reverend Dr. LaVerne Adams celebrates 15 years as Pastor, Teacher, and Vision Architect of the Cathedral of Praise Community Church which began in 1997 and is located in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This church began with about 35 members who were mostly senior citizens. Today the Church is thriving with vibrant worship and countless community outreach programs to youth, which is the signature of this growing ministry. Her leadership has helped the church to transform, develop disciples and prepare leaders in the Kingdom of God.
As pastor, Dr. Adams has instituted the COPCC Leadership Academy that strengthens spiritual growth and accountability. She envisions the development of the International Kingdom Strategy Center that will prepare leaders to strategically expand God’s Kingdom into the marketplace. The Net-Get Connected Small Group Ministry was created to keep members connected. Her latest divinely inspired innovation was the Biggest Loser Life Changing Experience, where participants were led through an eight-week journey shedding weight from the body, soul, and spirit. The group collectively lost almost 100 pounds in addition to some unnecessary emotional and spiritual baggage. To address the needs of adolescent youth, Pastor Adams is the innovator of the Cathedral Crossroads Rites of Passage Program, offering supportive learning activities for youth between the ages of 13 and 18.
As Executive Director, she developed programs at the church’s 30,000-square-foot facility, which ministers to over 150 families in the community daily, though the Motivational Achievement Program (MAP), a before- and after-school program which continues into a full-day Techno Arts Summer Camp specializing in the arts, media, and technology. The Cathedral Learning Center is a full-service preschool, with a curriculum that is literacy-based and includes the “I Can Read Program” to inspire infants to preschoolers to have a love for reading. These community programs employ over 20 people from the community. In the newly renovated computer lab, the church hosts a community computer program for all ages, helping to bridge the digital divide as well as prepare area residents with advanced technology skills and better employment opportunities. In its newly renovated kitchen, the church sponsors health programs and teaches nutritional cooking classes to children. These creative and innovative ministries have made the Church the center of the community as it touches and change lives every day.
As community leader, Dr. Adams has been awarded Community Service Awards by Mayor Michael Nutter, State Representative Louise Williams Bishop, and State Senator Vincent Hughes. She has also been awarded numerous federal, state, city, and private grants to continue her work in the community. Continued efforts are being made to provide relevant opportunities to community residents – turning this once deteriorating neighborhood into a place “where God lives in the Praise” (Psalm 22:3).
As professor, Dr. Adams is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry degree which focused on the Renewal of the Church for Mission and the holistic needs of youth in church and community. She was nominated for “Who’s Who in American Universities” in 1996. Since 1998, she has served as professor at the Eastern School of Christian ministry and adjunct faculty of Palmer Seminary teaching courses in Community Focused Ministry, Stewardship, and Small Group Ministry. Dr. Adams also teaches Bible and Foundations for Christian Spirituality at Eastern University’s Esperanza College. She is a recognized church leader with the American Baptist Churches, USA and the church is a member of the Abundant Life Fellowship of Churches under the leadership of Bishop David Evans.
As author, she has written "Driven By Destiny: 12 Secret Keys to Unlock Your Future" with the foreword written by Dr. Rick Warren and “Destiny: By Divine Design” to help many discover their true God-inspired destiny. These books proactively take an interactive approach, inspiring the reader to participate in destiny dialogs designed to define their destiny, maximize their potential and live the life they dream about. As the "Doctor of Destiny” she is life coach to celebrities and busy professionals in need of spiritual guidance and affirmation. As she encourages victory in every situation, she is affectionately known as Dr. “V”. Dr. Adams is a dynamic preacher, teacher, and transformational speaker. She believes that her God-given calling is to make God truly known to every person she encounters. She is host of “A Life Changing Word” radio broadcast. She also hosts “Livin’ It!”, a Web TV & web radio talk show that discusses how to live the Christian Life with victory in a post-Christian world. She has also been featured for her zest for life in Redbook magazine and in seen on Fox Television.
As scholar practitioner, Dr. Adams is recent recipient of the Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program award. Dr. Adams will have the opportunity to hone her Spanish-language skills through lengthy sojourns in Latin America with the expressed purpose to learn the language and the culture to minister more effectively to a multicultural audience. She will be traveling to Port of Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Dr. Adams has world-wide apostolic influence and has been launched to the nations, traveling internationally spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Americas, Africa, India, the Caribbean, the Philippines. She is host to the Christian Women’s International Empowerment Conference launched in Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies and is scheduled to span locations around the globe. It is her personal mission is to develop a relationship with God that is so authentically transformational that it compels multitudes to do likewise.
