by Marcel Schwantes 

Dr. Hyveth Williams will tell you that she never intended to become a pastor.  She had it all as a successful assistant to a politician in Hartford, Connecticut in the eighties. She couldn't walk down the street without being photographed by the paparazzi. She was a guest on television talk shows and popular with the media. Her famous public persona and the glamor of it all was a blast, she'll tell you. She'll also tell you that inside this wildly popular and successful career as a politician resided an angry, empty and bitter woman who coped with the pain of her existence by experimenting with alcohol, drugs, and a promiscuous lifestyle. She smoked three packs a day. And at one point, Hyveth wanted to kill herself. In fact, she tried three times. Did I mention she was an atheist?

That was before she began hearing voices. No, she wasn't crazy. God was calling out to Hyveth in what she calls her "Damascus experience." A colleague introduced her to Scripture and gave her a bible - a red King James Version to be exact. Hyveth was captivated. She devoured Genesis to Revelation like eye-candy in just over a week, she'll tell you.

She was never the same since. Life transformed, grace and mercy of the Savior now abundantly clear, she had a different pursuit--her Kingdom agenda.

Part of that pursuit included the educational transformation which included a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology from Columbia Union College (1984), a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University Theological Seminary (1989) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Boston University School of Theology (1998),

The pursuit also led Dr. Williams to become the first woman senior pastor and also the first black woman pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in America. Currently, she is the senior pastor of the Campus Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loma Linda, California, and is an adjunct professor of religion at Loma Linda University.

She's now an internationally acclaimed author, speaker and an in-demand preacher of the Gospel.  Her influence is profoundly felt around the world.

And that road as a pastor hasn't always been paved in smooth asphalt. Nasty bumps along the way included being falsely accused by a fringe fundamentalist group for things she didn't preach in a sermon. She was eventually exonerated by the church for it.  And, of course, there's that little issue of being a female preacher, and of color. She will tell you that she has been verbally attacked by a few church people for it.

Things have improved, and Dr. Williams finds herself in constant demand to speak.  And she doesn't mess around with her role as a Minister of the Gospel. She spends countless days, weeks, in sermon preparation, sometimes reading several books before a sermon is good and ready.

Finally, if you were to ask Dr. Williams, she would tell you point blank that she's a preacher who is a woman, rather than a preaching woman, placing clear emphasis on her role of minister of the Gospel first.  

Google searching her name may reveal many sides of Dr. Williams, some which are unfounded and untrue. I was honored to have spent time interviewing Dr. Williams and getting to know the real person impacting lives for Christ. Here is the result of our chats.

One of the fantastic things about God is that when he changes a person, inside out, He takes old corrupted passions, cleans them up and sends us out to make waves for Jesus. So my answer is yes, I am still passionate, political and some would agree-pushy. Only now, with a winsome smile and a compassionate heart. I know what I want, I set my face like a flint toward my goals and in time, I look up and I've arrived. Then I start all over again with new challenges and opportunities.

AT: Before you turned your life over the Christ, your #1 goal as a politician was to get elected as the first black female Mayor in the United States. How much of that personal drive and ambition would you say led you to become the first black female pastor and first female senior pastor in our denomination?

I'm sure that some of that latent ambition drove my life, but I was not particularly aware of it. The fact is that in the beginning, I didn't want to be a minister. I prayed and fasted, asking God to allow me to continue on the lucrative path I was on. When I heard Him again instruct me to go into the ministry, I was just nominated to be VP of a quasi Federal Agency in Washington DC with offices in several states. I even promised to pay double tithe and give more Bible studies, but God would not bargain with me. Eventually, I gave in and pursued ministry. I had no idea that I would be successful because at the time there was a great hoopla about women in ministry and I was certainly discouraged by some church leaders to pursue this goal. I was told that I was too old, divorced, and a woman of color so my chances of being hired was nil. From that background I launched out thinking, if I want to throw my life away at this stage, who better to throw it on, but God since I had already tried the world and got zero returns for my investment.

Anyway, as I've said in my autobiography--"Will I Ever Learn?"-- being first is not all that it's cracked up to be, but at this time in my life I wouldn't trade it or anything. I just thank God that He trusted me to be the first.

AT: You have been both praised and criticized for your sermons, theology and preaching style. How and why are you misunderstood?

I believe that sometimes I am misunderstood because I share things some members of our church have not heard or thought of before. However, more often than not, after people have taken the time to check things out, they agree with what I have presented. I am of the belief and agree with Ellen White when she said that "truth is never afraid of scrutiny."  It may also be the case that since I am a pastor who happens to be female, there's greater scrutiny and skepticism when some people listen to my sermons. The blessing is that there are more who appreciate them than those who don't. It reflects a lot of the many [positive] emails I receive each day.

AT: You are the recipient of several distinguished awards, including last year's Citizen of the Year for San Bernadino County. If you were to choose one personal success story as a pastor, what would it be?

There are two stories that come immediately to mind. About eight years ago a stranger challenged me to do something about pregnant teens in our county. She owned an agency that looked after girls who are wards of the state - pregnant, truant, abused, broken in every way. I shared this with my church and they rallied with me and we started a program called Macedonian Ministry echoing the call the Apostle received from that city. A group of medical students and social workers took over the program and recruited a lot of other volunteers. We taught these teens a lot of skills and tutored them so they could graduate from high school. We dedicated their babies every year and taught them about the love of Jesus. Many of them have moved on to find jobs, live independently off the streets or attend college. Every day we run into one or more of them who share their success stories with us. The ministry leaders are now focusing on foster children.

The second story is still in progress. About two years ago one of our members challenged me to think out of the box when it comes to community outreach. He gave me a book--Simple Acts of Kindness so again I accepted the challenge. We quickly organized a group of volunteers who participated in free Christmas gift wrapping at a mall in a blighted neighborhood. This spun into cleaning up the garbage from one such neighborhood near our church. We gave fresh fruits to the neighbors, held a health fair (over 130 families attended). We now have a weekly branch Sabbath School where an average of 30 children attends. Recently we had a BBQ and worship in the park and over 80 people attended. If there is interest in how we've done this, we also have a video which we offer free with a phone call.

AT: What is your biggest regret as a pastor in the Adventist church?

None yet. 

AT: Your church--Campus Hill, is smack in the Mecca of Adventism--Loma Linda University. What are you most proud of about your church in an area so saturated with other Adventist churches competing for territory?

We are most proud of our church's personality manifested in, but not limited to, these three things. First, we are known for our diversity. Sixty-five different nationalities worship in our church and get along as kingdom dwellers. In 2006 when we celebrated our 100th anniversary, each person brought a large flag from their native land which forms the background to our platform. It is not unusual to see family members and their guests taking pictures in front of their flag after a worship service.

Second, we are lauded for our involvement in the surrounding community. We have been public advocates for at-risk-youth in our Simple Acts of Kindness Evangelism (SAKE) ministry, Macedonian Ministry for pregnant and ward-of-the state teens, plus collaboration with many other local ministries.

Several of these youth whose lives were transformed by the Good News have been baptized. 

Third, our foundation out of which the above grows is our consistent preaching of the Gospel - you may see our Gospel Statement on our website at www.campushillchurch.net. This has been shared with ministers around the world, some of whom have adopted it in their churches.

AT: How has your church benefited from the explosion of media technologies?

A few years ago we established the position of a Media Pastor and invested in video equipment to record our worship services. When our church was notified that the local radio station broadcasting our sermons was about to change its format and terminate the airing of our sermons, we turned to television. We were able to attract the interest of Hope Channel where our sermons, musical programs and counseling series called "A Painted World: Portraits of Illusion and Reality" are aired daily, worldwide. 

Our Media Department is buzzing. The crew of outstanding volunteers, mostly teenagers, provides attendees with DVDs and CDs immediately after a worship service along with wedding, anniversary and other professional productions.

Like any other churches, we face many challenges in these uncertain economic times. Our prayer ministries have been relentless in lifting up our members, community and all our needs. God, on His part, has been consistently faithful in opening opportunities where there seemed to be none. To Him be the glory!

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To invite or schedule Dr. Williams contact HWM by phone (909) 913-0402 or visit the website at www.HyvethWilliamsMinistries.org.