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Doctor Kenneth Lee Samuel is a native of Darlington, South Carolina; one of four children born to Mr. & Mrs. Bessie and Albert Samuel, Sr. He has been the recipient of many scholastic and civic honors, including ‘A Better Chance Scholarship’, which allowed him to attend high school at the prestigious Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey. He graduated in 1978 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History. He continued his academic pursuit by matriculating at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received the Benjamin E. Mays Theological Fellowship Award among others. In 1981, he received his Master of Divinity Degree. In 1996, he received the Doctor of Ministry Degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. His theological focus is in the field of homiletics and social ethics.
Doctor Samuel was licensed as a Minister of the Gospel on his 23rd birthday, August 5, 1979, at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, under the pastorate of the Reverend Doctor Joseph L. Roberts, Jr., and Pastor Emeritus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. He was ordained in 1982 also at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta. In November 2002, Dr. Samuel was granted full ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ through the Georgia/South Carolina Association of the United Church of Christ.
In March of 1987, Doctor Samuel organized the Victory for the World Church which has dual standing as an Independent Baptist Church, and an active congregation of the United Church of Christ. Situated in a growing eastern suburb of Atlanta called Stone Mountain, the Victory Church seeks to address the total needs of the total person through a broad array of ministries and services which promote the spiritual development, educational enhancement, physical fitness and social empowerment of every child of God – regardless of race, gender, culture, class or sexual orientation. In 2001, Dr. Samuel and the Victory Church completed construction on a 3000 seat Worship Center, replete with classrooms, offices, library, bookstore, recording studio and a 500 seat banquet hall. In addition, the Kenneth Lee Samuel (KLS) Community Life Center houses a full court gymnasium, additional classrooms, offices and a computer lab. The 25 acre Victory campus also houses the Victory Christian Academy, which serves grades K3 through 5th grade.
Doctor Samuel has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Religion and Philosophy Department at Clark Atlanta University, and has served as a Teaching Assistant in homiletics at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Doctor Samuel’s first book, entitled ‘Solomon’s Success: Four Essential Keys To Leadership’ recently appeared as the number one best seller under Pilgrim Press in The Christian Century.
Believing that our love for Jesus should never be separated from our passion for Justice, Doctor Samuel has engaged himself in the struggle for Human Rights through numerous agencies, which most recently include serving as Vice-Chair of the African American Leadership Council of People For the American Way (Washington, D.C.), Trustee Board Member of the Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, CA), Advisory Board Member of the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA), Board Member of Leadership DeKalb (the premier Leadership Development program in DeKalb County, GA), Religious Advisory Board Member of the National Black Justice Coalition and Immediate Past President of the DeKalb County, Georgia Branch of the NAACP.
Doctor Samuel is the proud parent of one daughter, Kendalle Marye, and resides in Lithonia, Georgia.
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