Timothy Peoples

Timothy Peoples has been named the new senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. He is pictured here with his wife, Valerie Lott. Photo courtesy of Wilshire Baptist Church.

 

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Editor’s note (Dec. 5): A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Timothy Peoples’ wife. Her name is Valerie Lott. 

Wilshire Baptist Church has a new senior pastor who was formerly part of the church’s pastoral residency program.

Timothy Peoples, who will begin his role in January, participated in Wilshire’s pastoral residency program in 2015-17. The program was established by George Mason, the former senior pastor who retired after more than 30 years in January, and his predecessor, Bruce McIver, as a way to provide practical experience to young ministers, in addition to their seminary education.

Shortly before he died, McIver shared the idea for the program with Mason. The residency was established with grants from the Lilly Endowment, and it has trained 39 ministers since its inception.

Peoples has been the pastor of Emerywood Baptist Church in North Carolina for the past five years.

He was called to serve as senior pastor of the Dallas church in a congregational vote and was recommended by a 12-member search committee that evaluated candidates over a 10-month period.

“What a joy to welcome back to Wilshire an extraordinarily gifted former pastoral resident to lead our church in the years ahead,” Mason, a longtime Advocate worship columnist, said in a release. “Timothy brings a buoyant spirit, a vision for justice and a passion for the church that are infectious.”