Dr. Jesse L. Nelson is senior pastor in Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Panama City, FL and adjunct professor at the Baptist College of Florida and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a missionary to Haiti and missions consultant for the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Nelson graduated from Selma University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed additional studies at Regent’s Park College of Oxford University and Alabama State University. Dr. Nelson is a spiritual son of Dr. Robert Smith Jr., author of award winning book Doctrine That Dances.

 

As an author, Pastor Nelson has published several books. He reviews books for the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, writes articles for Preaching Magazine and blackpast.org, contributes sermons to sermoncentral.com, and blogs at jessenelson.org. As a speaker, Dr. Nelson delivers messages for men, women, marriage, youth, college, missions, black history, leadership, and preaching events. He is an advocate for racial reconciliation and facilitates conversations for the Bay County Racial Reconciliation Project. He has shared platforms with A. Louis Patterson, Jr., Fred Luter, Jr., Robert Smith Jr., Julius Scruggs, James Earl Massey, Marcus Davidson, David Nasser, Mac Powell of Third Day, and Paul Colman and Peter Furler of the Newsboys.

 

With more than twenty years of ministry experience, Dr. Nelson has received numerous awards from community organizations and local and state governments.

His life mission is to equip Christians to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. He enjoys running, playing golf, and going to the beach with his family. He is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Catesha Rogers of Montgomery, AL. They have two children, Jacey and Carey, and a dog, “Jumping Jack.”