Meet Dr. Vincent Dortch: Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Vincent Dortch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Vincent, what do you want people to remember about you?
I want my legacy to fall in line with the words from Mahalia Jackson…If I can help somebody. As a pastor desire each day is to live a life that is a blessing to someone. As as a matter the lyrics of that same song states…”If I can cheer somebody, with a word or song, If I can show somebody, that he’s traveling wrong then my living shall not be in vain.” I have discovered more and more from Covid-19 that people are hurting every day and my job is to provide a word of comfort to people. I don’t us my title, my position, my calling to pull people down but encourage them through the Word of God. I want people to remember as a down to earth person that they can relate to.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I serve as a full time pastor. I believe one of the things that set me apart is the involvement I have within the community. I am excited as the Chaplain for the Carrollton Police Department, serve on several boards such as Rotary, Child Advocacy, Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS), Monthly Clergy and Police Meetings, Helping Hands, Advocate for Teen Prevention programs with Morehouse School of Medicine and Monthly Disbursement of USDA Food Boxes to the community. Serving throughout the community is what I am excited about. I received the call to serve as the pastor 21 years ago. This is my first church. I wouldn’t say it was easy but it was a great learning experience. The challenges I had to overcome were learning to balance my life while working as a Payroll Accountant the same time for the first 13 years. On top of that I decided to enhanced my pastoral duties by attending Theology School to earned my Doctorate Degree in Theology. I believe I have learned serval lesson in my 21 years. I believe the lesson that stands out the most is when my wife passed. As a father and pastor, I had to learn how trust God doing the process. The lesson I learned was living what I preached about during death of a love one. This was the time I needed to stand on the Word of God and let my family, members and community see that God that lived in me and not hide behind a rock but hide behind The Rock for my daily strength. One of the things I want people to know is as God elevate you in life, never forget where you come from. God has blessed me to work with several organizations that allowed me to be a vessel to bless others. I may have many titles and degrees but at the end of the day I am Vincent and I love to serve God’s people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my close friends called me “The Entertainer” because I love to entertain. Each year I host a SuperBowl party at my home. I have around 65 people at the party. If I had my best friend to come to down for the week, the first I would tell him is that his money is not good in my city. lol I would show him some good southern hospitality. For example, I would cook several meals doing the week at the house, play some pool and watch some basketball games. I would take him to one of my favorite restaurants named Houstons. I will make sure I order him the Hawaiian Ribeye Steak. lol. As my guest, I would set up an event at my house and invite several people to come and hang out. I would cook several of my “so-call famous dishes such seafood, ox-tails, fried corn, collards, and corn bread just to name a few. lol And to top off the week, I would make sure he attends a worship service with me. Following a Sunday service, we will go and play some golf at Top Golf. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shoutout to my parents who taught me how to treat people as people regardless how successful I become. Growing up in a small rural town in Century Florida, I learned how to appreciate my blessings. I’m thankful I am blessed in so many ways that I love going back home to share blessings to the community. Also I give a shout out to my grade school Coach Jones who helped me growing up when I didn’t have money or transportation. Finally, I give Antioch credit because I am serving as the for 21 years. The Lord has blessed me with a great church. I have a great relationship with all my members.

Website: Vincent Dortch Ministry

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Twitter: @dortch68

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