Pastors Biography

The Reverend Lester Agyei McCorn is the Senior Pastor of the Faith AME Zion Church of Atlanta, Georgia. He is also the National Director of Young Adult Ministries for the AME Zion Church.  He is a native of Worcester, Massachusetts. He has had a diverse and distinguished career as a pastor, community activist and civic leader. After graduating from the Worcester Public Schools, Pastor McCorn received his undergraduate education (B.A.) in Religion and Sociology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his theological education at Yale University Divinity School (M.Div.) and Chicago Theological Seminary (M.A.). He has done further study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston University School of Theology and University of Chicago Divinity School. He is currently a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) candidate at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in the area of history, theology and ethics.  His research topic is “Freedom Church:  Reclaiming the Liberation Tradition of the A.M.E. Zion Church in the Post-Civil Rights Era.”

Pastor McCorn has been in the ministry for more than twenty years, having been licensed to preach at the age of 16. He received his first pastoral appointment at the age of 20, while a student at Morehouse College. An activist-student leader, he was elected as President of his freshman class and President of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Chapter (Alpha Rho) at Morehouse. He also served as a student intern to famed civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis (D-GA.). He served as pastor of three different congregations in Georgia: Lawrence Temple A.M.E. Zion in Menlo, Hemphill A.M.E. Zion in Summerville and Bush Chapel A. M. E. Zion in Winder. He later served as pastor of two churches in New England: St. Luke Christian A.M.E. Zion in Boston (Dorchester), Massachusetts and Varick Memorial A.M.E. Zion in New Haven, Connecticut, the third oldest church of the denomination. He served as the President and CEO of the Varick Development Corporation and as the Vice President of the New Haven Board of Education, along with several other civic boards and associations. Prior to being appointed to Faith Church, Rev. McCorn served as pastor of the Martin Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Chicago from 1998 to 2005.

Pastor Lester Agyei (pronounced Ahd-JAY-ee) McCorn has been the spiritual leader of Faith A.M.E. Zion Church since October 2005. He has led Faith to become one church in two locations.  The Faith Center satellite location at the Deerwood Academy in Atlanta is located adjacent to the new twelve-acre property owned by Faith and near a new 486-acre community called Princeton Lakes and the new Camp Creek Marketplace. The proposed Faith Village will include a worship and education center, a Family Life Center, senior housing and recreation areas.  It is located in one of the fastest growing areas of metro Atlanta and South Fulton County.

Pastor McCorn is an inductee of the Martin Luther King Board of Preachers at Morehouse. He has been a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Program and Leadership Greater Chicago. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Yale Club of Georgia, NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.  As an aspiring Church scholar, Rev. McCorn is co-authoring a book with Rev. Otis Moss III, entitled, “Can You Hear Me Now?:  Connecting the Gospel to the Post-Soul Generation.” Rev. McCorn has preached in Africa – in Sierra Leone, Malawi and South Africa – and in prestigious pulpits in the United States, including King Chapel at Morehouse College, Marquand Chapel at Yale Divinity School, Allen Cathedral AME Church in Jamaica, NY, Greater Centennial AMEZ Church in Mount Vernon, NY, Pennsylvania Avenue AMEZ Church in Baltimore, Trinity UCC Church in Chicago, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, GA. and the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta.

He is married to Mrs. Charlene Maria (Mundy) McCorn, and they are the proud parents of three children; William Elijah Benjamin, Maliaka Kenyetta and John-Charles Wesley.