Rev. Lisa Hammonds
Regional Coordinator - Middle Tennessee
Rev. Hammonds is a Nashville, Tennessee-native. She earned a BBA from Middle Tennessee State University and a MDiv. from Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is a graduate of John A. Gupton College with a Funeral Director Certificate and earned a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is pursuing a DMin in the Strategic Leadership in Black Congregations cohort at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
Following a successful and multi-faceted career in consumer lending, Rev. Hammonds answered her call to the preaching ministry in 1996. She was ordained an itinerant deacon and itinerant elder, both in the Tennessee Annual Conference of the 13th Episcopal District in the AME Church. She has served in numerous leadership roles including chairing both the conference and district Board of Examiners, Conference Trustees, Ministerial Efficiency Committee, Conference Finance Committee, Conference Budget Committee, and Women in Ministry.
Rev. Hammonds serves as the treasurer of the Nashville’s Fellowship for Women of Color in Ministry, assistant treasurer for the Nashville Branch of the NAACP, and treasurer for the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship (IMF), and is the board secretary for Congregational Health and Education Network (CHEN) at Nashville General Hospital. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Nu Kappa Omega Chapter, where she serves as the parliamentarian. She enjoys traveling and self-identifies as a “foodie.”
Over 22 years, she has served in numerous leadership positions and as pastor throughout Middle Tennessee. In March 2018, she was appointed as the senior pastor of her home church, St. John AME Church in Nashville (SJN), the “Mother” Church (oldest) of African Methodism in the state of Tennessee. As a community member, clergy person, leader, and activist, Rev. Hammonds is an ambassador for the Kin-dom of God.