“And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. - LUKE 14:23
“You will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth.” - ACTS 1:8
“So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” - ROMANS 1:15-17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. - 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
Pastor Douglas Edwards
Pastoral Biographical Sketch
of
Pastor Douglas E. Edwards, Ph.D.
Dr. Douglas E. Edwards is an eighty-six-year-old Pastor of Mission of Hope and Deliverance (MOHAD) Ministries, previously the Mission of Love Outreach Ministries (MOLOM). Elder Edwards was Ordained as Pastor of Mission of Love Outreach Ministries (MOLOM) by the Original Free Will Baptist Conference of America by the late Bishop Limmie Nathaniel Forbes and became Pastor of MOLOM in October 1993.
The Mission of Love Outreach Ministries grew from the Mission of Love Charities’ (MOLC) Spiritual Awareness and Bible Teaching Study group. The initial slogan was “Meeting the Needs of People”, by changing their lives and thinking of themselves as mind, body, soul, and spirit and that everything about us is important to God. From that belief and slogan, Pastor Edwards’ motto for MOLOM was “Going Into The Hedges And Hedges” as taken from St. Luke 14:23. Dr. Edwards’ vision, aim, and goal is that he reaches where he preaches, and he does not believe in waiting for anyone to find him; that he finds and administers to them wherever they are or happens to be. Pastor Edwards styled MOLOM as a Hospital Called Church, where those sin-sick soles could be administered to and go back out and bring other wounded persons in for treatment.
Pastor Edwards retired from the Federal government in 1992 after thirty-two years of service. He made that promise to God, that if allowed to reach age fifty-five with at least 30 years of service, he would become a full-time minister for God. Pastor Edwards retired on July 31, 1992, and founded MOLC on August 1, 1992. Pastor Edwards and a group of volunteers embarked on his motto for MOLC and he provided food, clothing, furniture, and counseling for those in need and who qualified based on government requirements for persons in need. In addition to the physical needs of persons coming to MOL for assistance, Pastor Edwards also provided spiritual counseling to those in need. Based on his education, and training as a counselor skill, Pastor Edwards provided Psycho Therapy, Counseling Pre and post-marital, Suicide Prevention Conflict Resolution, Behavior Modification, Compulsive Behavior/Substance Abuse, and Job Training Skills.
Dr. Edwards attended the Howard University School of Divinity where he studied the Old and New Testament studies that were applied toward a Master of Arts Degree (MARS). He furthered his studies through an online distance-learning program at the Rockville University Distance Learning Program and received his Ph.D. in the History of Religion in 1978. After much prayer concerning his retirement as pastoring MOHAD, sharing with his wife, MOHAD officers, and his Pastor, Bishop LaVaughn Hughes, Pastor Edwards via email communicated with the membership of MOHAD that he was holding a very important meeting on June 18, 2023, in person and virtual with MOHAD, Christian Love Center (CLC). During that meeting, Pastor announced his retirement as Pastor. He recommended Elder Lornell Lartman to become Pastor, no other name was advanced, so a vote was taken and approved unanimously that Elder Lartman would become Pastor Elect pending transfer of authority and that Pastor would become Pastor Emeritus/Overseer at the time of transfer of authority.
The meeting adjourned with everyone in agreement.
