Pastor Maria Antoinette Gordon

Pastor Maria ran from her destiny until the lord until the Lord prompted her to read: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”. In May of 2001, she surrendered and accepted God’s call for her life. She got the call to preach under the pastoral leadership of the Reverend Terence Renard Gray. Under his leadership and tutelage, she recieved the necessary tools for ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

She served on the ministerial staff of St Paul AME Church, Macon, from 2001 to 2008. In May 2008, she became pastor of Mount Hope AME Church, serving five years(2008-2013). Pastor Maria then became the shepherd of Steward Chapel AME Church, Macon, “a historic church with a new spirit” for the three uears(2013-2016). At the Planning Meeting in 2016, she was appointed as pastor of St Paul-Clinton, in Gray, GA< she served there for five years(2016-2021), and at the 2021 Planning Meeting, Pastor Maria was appointed Pastor of Greater Jordan Chapel AME Church in Haddock May 2021 to present.

Pastor Maria is an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She has served on the Conference Board of Examiners since 2009 and became the Dean in 2019. In addition, she serves as the Secretary of the Macon Georgia Annual Conference from 2014 through 2024. Pastor Maria has served on the Ministerial Efficiency District General Conference Delegation in 2021 and 2024.

She has pursued higher education and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, a Masters in Pastoral Ministry, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctorate in Ministry focusing on Pastoral Counseling. Her vocational career began in 1982, and she was elevated through the ranks to the Chief of the Base Accounting Office, managing a $14B budget. 28 accounting and administrative personnel, and four supervisors. Retiring from Federal Service in 2019 after 37 years of service.

Pastor Maria has the faith of Abraham, the independence and strength of Deborah, and the love and commitment of Ruth, but most of all, she keeps it real like Paul. As God leads, she follows and is willing to “go all the way” in Christ Jesus!

Pastor Maria is grateful to have the unmerited love and support of her husband Charles, to whom she has been married since January 1981. Through this union, they have two adult children, Latasha and Charles Jr., two granddaughters, Destiny and Lyric, and a grandson Micah. She is called, anoited, and appointed for this season, to lead God’s people to higher heights and deeper depths in Christ Jesus.