The Reverend Frederick D. Berry, Sr. is the founder and lead pastor for First Community Church of Tyler, Texas. First Community of Tyler is a church plant from the vision of the Late Rev. James E. Curtis, the founding pastor and pastor emeritus of New Jerusalem Baptist Church of Tyler, Texas, a core group of believers and support from Mount Hebron Church of Garland, Texas. The goal of First Community Church of Tyler is to effectively minister to Tyler and surrounding communities in an effort to win lost souls for Christ, empower Christian growth, and liberate the oppressed. Tyler is unique in many ways. Tyler is a growing retirement community as well as a city with several local colleges and universities. Part of the vision for First Community Church of Tyler as it relates to the City of Tyler is to help link the church, students, retirees and the community at large in a way that will be conducive to each and will help to fulfill the mission of the church while providing a warm nurturing atmosphere for all involved. This goal will be mastered through mentor / mentee relationships and fellowships.
Prior to this assigement, Rev. Berry served as The Shepherding Ministry Director at Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church “The Mount” of Garland, Texas under the leadership of the senior pastor, Rev. Leonard O. Leach. In this role, Rev. Berry gave leadership to the shepherding team which is comprised of over one hundred deacons, deaconess, ministers and their captains. This ministry is a direct arm of the senior pastor’s office which ministers to the needs of the flock of over 5,000 members through pastoral care. Prior to this role, Rev. Berry served in in the Pastoral Care and Counseling Department at The Mount focusing on Marriage and Family Counseling. Prior to these areas of ministry, he served as Pastor of Discipleship at The Mount for five years. During that time approximately 2,700 members were exposed to spiritual guidance via the ministry of Adult Discipleship.
Pastor Frederick D. Berry, Sr.
Pastor Berry has served at multiple churches in many different capacities from Pastoral ministry to Minister of Music for over thirty years. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of New Testament Studies for D. Edwin Johnson Biblical Institute and an adjunct instructor at Jarvis Christian College.
A sought after speaker, he is an innovative preacher who has used creative, inspirational, theological sound sermons to spread the Word of God to God’s people. Congregations are blessed by his unique way of intertwining his traditional style with contemporary approaches to his motivational sermon presentations.
He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in computer science from Jarvis Christian College of Hawkins, Texas and his Master of Theological Studies focusing in Christian Education and Liberation Theology with course work in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University of Dallas, Texas.
He has authored literary works including Urban Ministry: Ministry Where it Counts, The Lord’s Supper: Understanding Our Need for Holy Communion, African American / Liberation Issues: Multicultural Issues in Christian Education, A Look At John 17: Jesus Prays, and Christian Education for Mission and Service.
