Gary Williams

About Gary Williams

Dr. Gary L. Williams, Sr. accepted Christ as his personal Savior at the age of nine. He is a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and the younger of two sons born to Alfreda Williams and the late Rev. Roosevelt Williams. Pastor Gary Williams is no stranger to the ministry. In 1990, Dr. Williams accepted the call to become the pastor of First Baptist Church of Mandarin. He has the longest tenure as Pastor of the First Church. He seeks to transform the lives of many through the simplicity of the gospel. The focus and aim of his ministry is church and family centered – to do what he can to support the nucleus (the fabric of the community). Under his leadership at The First Church, membership has grown from under 100 to several thousand. There are more than 30 active ministries, and they continue to develop to meet the demands of the ministry. Other accomplishments include the construction of a new sanctuary, a family life center and a collegiate gymnasium, totaling 80,000 square feet. In addition, two churches, Light of the World Christian Center and Mt. Horeb Baptist Church, have been planted and supported. The Promise Land Pre-school and Promise Land Academy have been established. Under the direction of Dr. Williams, extensive work is being done in Malawi, Africa. In 2011, construction was started to build the "Village of Hope". The Village of Hope, located on two acres of land, will consist of eight buildings where literacy, Bible and vocation skills will be taught. Dr. Williams works to expand God's kingdom on earth spiritually, socially and economically. Therefore, the vision continues to unfold with the "City of Hope," which is Christ-centered, and involves conversion (salvation), and commitment (community involvement). The City of Hope, comprises 30-acres of land and will be the new home of First Church Hopewell, an administrative building, gymnasium/teen center, recreational field, senior housing development, and maintenance building. As plans progress for the construction of the City of Hope, which is located in St. Johns County, Dr. Williams has established Hopewell Lite. Hopewell Lite fosters the ministry's presence in the community and serves as a means to bring the gospel to those who live in the area. Dr. Williams earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies and a Masters Degree in Apologetics both from Luther Rice Seminary. He holds Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the Jacksonville Baptist Theological Seminary, Doctor of Divinity from Saint Thomas Christian College and Edward Waters College. Over the years, Pastor Williams has received accolades, awards and certificates from numerous prestigious organizations. He was recently appointed by Governor Charlie Christ to serve on the One Church One Child Board of Directors.

Publisher

Dr. Gary L. Williams Sr.

Category

religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Aug 2021

Latest episode

4 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

14 of 205 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   4 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Head of the Wrong Class

   Gary Williams discusses navigating unexpected career paths and finding success in unforeseen roles.

2. 

   27 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Get Up

   Gary Williams shares insights on his journey and motivations in this interview episode.

3. 

   20 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Mercy for the Mess

   Gary Williams explores the concept of "Mercy for the Mess" in this episode.

Inside a recent episode

Head of the Wrong Class

Published 4 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] He begins to briefly write an autobiography of himself. He begins to talk about himself. Why would he do that? Why would Paul talk about himself in this letter to Timothy? He wanted to encourage Timothy to let Timothy know that the gospel that you are preaching is a loaded gospel. In other words, all that division, all the immorality, all of the problems, all of your youthfulness, all of the things that you're dealing with, he writes to Timothy to let Timothy know, young man, the gospel that you are preaching is a loaded gospel that And the fact that it is a loaded gospel, it means this, it can handle any, every, and all problems that you have. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

25 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 43 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

50

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

90

Contact Gary Williams

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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