Deniela Williams

Pastor Dee, as she likes to be called, has had a lot of firsts: she was the first person in her family to graduate from high school, to go to college, to move out of her family home, to have a child, to accept Christ into her heart. She was the first of her siblings to get married. She was the first female deacon of her church, and recently she was the first female senior pastor to be welcomed into the Ohio Baptist State Convention. “I was always trailblazing,” she says. “It’s all been an effort to level the playing field so I can give back to the community.”

What inspired you to work for social justice?

DW: I was born and raised in Akron, in poverty, [but] I didn’t become aware that we were in poverty until middle school, [at] Goodyear. I started to meet middle-class friends, and seeing the parallel between [us] caused me to want to live a better life—to help people caught up in the culture of poverty.

What were your career goals when you attended The University of Akron?

DW: [The] initial degree [I] pursued was criminal justice. Working in the [Summit County] Department of Adult Probation, I was able to tell very quickly that there were underlying issues people were dealing with that weren’t being addressed. I pursued my second degree with the goal of being a social worker, but not on a micro level: I wanted to work with systems to change policies and procedures.

How did you come to be a pastor after all that?

DW: I came into the church in 1993 as a lay person [and] became a deacon about six years in. The Lord called me to preach in 2012. When my pastor, Benny Williams, became sick [in 2014] and it was necessary to name a successor, the Lord laid it upon his heart to call me. I was reluctant at first, but the Lord continued to harass me, and [eventually] I agreed to it.

Have there been challenges for you along the way?

DW: One of the major challenges is that I didn’t grow up in the church, so the whole idea of establishing a family outside of my biological family was unique to me. And in my own personal life, I went through a divorce. When I had [that] disappointment, I second-guessed my role in the church and whether or not God’s promises were true.

What has surprised you about being a leader in your church?

DW: What I wasn’t ready for was what it really meant to be a female pastor in the Baptist faith. When people started to share the history and struggle of women who had come before me, I was blown away. I thought about tradition and how challenging it is for women to navigate through long-standing male-driven institutions. I had a lot of courage, but I didn’t know if I wanted to expend the energy in that direction. [Then] God paved the way.

What is something that always brightens your day no matter what?

DW: I love breakthroughs. I’m a public servant by day, a pastor by night, and a tired woman by late evening. But when people call and say I got the job, or my mom is healed, or I got accepted into college, those things really rest my heart, make me happy.

Is there an indulgence you allow yourself?

DW: I absolutely love Dunkin Donuts coffee. If I’m having a stressful day, that’s where I will go to treat myself.

What do you do when you’re not at work or in the pulpit?

DW: I don’t have time to cook, so I love to go to restaurants, and I go often by myself. There’s always someone trying to hit on me. But I date myself! I feel so good sometimes, just putting on make-up [and] one of my favorite outfits and ordering anything I want on the menu.

What do you do in those situations?

DW: I’m just polite, but I never invite them to join me. I’m at a really good place now. I know who I am, what my purpose in life is. I never paid attention much to what I have to offer or my beauty, inside or outside; it’s just who I am. 

Would you ever consider dating or marrying again?

DW: It’s going to take somebody pretty amazing for me to give up my freedom, but I do expect the Lord to bless me with a husband. Most men don’t want the challenge of a woman who has power and authority. If I meet or fall for somebody who has strong self-esteem, I’m looking forward to that. 

How is your life overall these days?

DW: Everything I’ve got in my life—spiritual, professional, personal—has been a fight. It’s good to be in a place where I don’t have to fight anymore. I’m happier now than I have been in my entire life.