Whitlock

Today Rev. Mark E. Whitlock, Jr. is committed to serving God, family, the AME Church and the community. He, his wife and his mother, are beyond thrilled to be in Glenn Dale, Maryland serving Reid Temple AME Church (RTAME). Prior to his historic July 2019 appointment to RTAME, Rev. Whitlock served as pastor of Christ Our Redeemer A.M.E. Church (COR Church) in Irvine, CA beginning in August 1998. Over the course of is ministerial and nonprofit career, Pastor Whitlock has raised more than $1.2 billion for the kingdom of God through individual donors, corporate, federal and institute grants.

Rev. Whitlock’s vision for RTAME is based on Hebrews 10: 23-25. God has called for RTAME to become the Beloved Community under Pastor Whitlock’s watch. In order to fulfill this vision, Pastor Whitlock follows the AME mission as well as the tenets of evangelism, discipleship, stewardship and social justice. Using the successful blueprint of COR Church and its Community Development Corporation, Pastor Whitlock is galvanizing RTAME’s five 501c3 corporations to forge public and private partnerships that will take RTAME to the next level.

Rev. Whitlock has a BA in Religion from the University of La Verne; La Verne CA; a Masters of Business from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; a Masters of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce OH; and a Doctor of Ministry from Payne Theological Seminary.

Rev. Whitlock has been happily married to Rev. Hermia Shegog Whitlock, J.D. for over 35 years. They have three sons, Ariel, Mark, III; and Devin.

Pastor Mark’s Track Record at COR Church
Pastor Whitlock served as the senior pastor of COR Church for 21 years. Under his leadership, COR Church grew from five to three thousand seven hundred members in 2019. COR Church now has over forty ministries, a paid staff of thirty people, and eighty volunteers. COR developed ecumenical and interfaith relationships with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Orange County; Rock Harbor Church, Mission Viejo; Jewish synagogues; and the Muslim mosques. In addition, Rev. Whitlock connected with law enforcement, including the Orange County Sheriff’s and the Irvine Polices Departments, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles and Orange County. COR Church was known for hosting conferences on community development, racial reconciliation, police relations, and working with the Orange County Department of Education, as well as the University of California, Irvine.

Rev. Whitlock is the founder and served as the CEO of the COR Community Development Corporation (CORCDC), the non-profit arm of COR Church, which grew to a staff of over thirty full time, part time, and contract employees. Funded by the Ray Charles Foundation, CIT/One West Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, Union Bank, Citibank, Royal Business Bank, Southern California Edison, and the California State University, Los Angeles and Bakersfield, CORCDC operates multiple community development programs, including a youth sports camp, summer enrichment academy, Pre-K to 4th grade reading programs, an entrepreneurial investment fund, and civic engagement programs.
In addition to serving as the managing partner/owner with Avanath Capital Management, CORCDC provides social services to the residents of the thirteen affordable properties valued over $900 million dollars. CORCDC awarded over $400,000 in college scholarships to minority college students living in Orange County, hosted National Faith Leadership Conferences, created the Innovators Impact Fund, and trained hundreds of young people in entrepreneurship. Avanath Capital, were COR CDC’s primary sources of income. With funding from CORCDC, COR Church members have built twelve homes for needy families in Mexico.

Under Rev. Whitlock’s leadership the following COR Church programs and CORCDC programs were established:
• COR owns 13 apartment buildings in partnership with Avanath Capital - $900,000,000.
• COR’s Social Services programs are in three states in 15 apartment buildings - $500,000 annually
• COR’s Youth Entrepreneurial program and loan fund - $100,000 annually
• COR’s Banking on Your Success Program - $125,000 annually
• COR’s Summer Enrichment Academy for Youth - $75,000 annually
• COR’s Cecil Murray Institute - $300, 000 Ray Charles Foundation
• COR’s Sports Camp - NFL, MLB, and NBA players are coaches
• COR’s Energy Efficiency Program - $5,000

Pastor Mark’s Early Years in Ministry
Before becoming a full-time pastor, in 1990, Rev. Whitlock co-founded the Richard Allen Men's Society (RAMS) of First AME Church in Los Angeles, CA, over 3,500 men who exemplified a positive African American image. Rev. Whitlock served as president for eight years. The RAMs are best known for helping to reclaim the community from gangs, drug dealers and closing 13 rock cocaine houses while leading young men to God in Jesus Christ.

Rev. Whitlock left his corporate career to serve God following the Los Angeles “Rodney King” Riots in 1991. He is the founder and executive director of FAME Renaissance, AKA FAME Assistance Corporation, the economic development arm of First A.M.E. Church, Los Angeles from 1992-2004. As the executive director, managing a staff of over one hundred people, he raised over four hundred million dollars in grants, loans, and public and private fee-for-service contracted service initiatives. FAME Renaissance created no less than four thousand jobs within South Los Angeles.

Under Rev. Whitlock’s leadership the following businesses and programs were established:
• FAME Transportation Program – One million people served annual – $120,000,000 raised
• FAME Renaissance Angel Fund – equity for small businesses - $50,000,000 raised
• FAME/Disney Micro Loan Fund – debt for small businesses – $1,000, 000 raised
• FAME/SBA Loan Fund – debt for small businesses - $3,000,000 raised
• FAME/EDA Loan Fund – debt for small businesses - $1,800,000 raised
• FAME Entrepreneurial Training Program – 1000 people trained
• FAME Incubator Program – developed a 70,000 sq. ft. building for small businesses - $7,000,000 raised
• FAME Home Mortgage Program - two hundred new homeowners
• FAME Environmental Protection Program – Saved two billion square acres of water in LA - $3,000,000 raised
• FAME Energy Efficiency Program – Energy Saving Program - $100,000 raised
• FAME Free Legal Clinic in partnership with UCLA School of Law
• FAME Temporary Employment Agency – Clients include government and private industry
• CEO Series – Public interviews with CEOs in the Entertainment Industry

Cecil Murray Center Experience
Rev. Mark has been a dual career professional, pastoring COR Church and serving as the Executive Director of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement at the University of Southern California for 13 years. There he raised funds, trained clergy, and administered staff and projects. The Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement has trained over eight hundred pastors on community development and civic engagement and operates multiple programs funded by the CA Endowment, Weingart Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, Union Bank, Comerica, and State Farm Insurance.

Rev. Mark Whitlock’s corporate experience equipped him to lead the 21st century church in economic development. He was a Vice President for Wells Fargo Bank Escrow Division and he was also a Vice President of the Commercial/Industrial National Division for Chicago Title Insurance Company. His clients included real estate developer and lawyers.

Rev. Whitlock has served on the following boards and organizations:
• Executive Director of the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies at the University of La Verne.
• Trustee for Paul Quinn College
• Board member and instructor for the Harvard University’s Summer Leadership Institute
• Member of the President’s Council CAL State University of Los Angeles
• Board member for PBS Television – Orange County
• Community Advisory Board member - East West Bank.
• Former Community Advisory member - Wells Fargo Bank
• Former Community Advisory member of Southern CA Edison
• Founder of the OC Sheriff’s Interfaith Clergy Council
• Founder of the Irvine/Anaheim Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

Pastor Mark on TV and in the Community
Rev. Whitlock has been featured on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, KTLA, Fox News, KJLH Radio, and Charter Cable. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, News Week Magazine, Orange County Register, Black Enterprise Magazine, Sentinel News, as well as several local magazines and newspapers. He has a weekly radio show on KJLH Radio.

He has lectured at the Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles; Anderson School of Business, Interdenominational Theological Center, Payne Seminary, Yale University, California State University, Los Angeles; Concordia University, churches, colleges and high schools. Rev. Whitlock has been a featured speaker at the White House's Faith-Based Conferences. He is a recipient of numerous national, state, city, and local community service awards.

Publications (Books, Articles and Quotes):
• Faith-based affordable housing models
• In God we Trust: faith-based organizations and the quest to solve poverty
• Seeking El Dorado: African Americans in California
• Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution
• The New Agenda of the Black Church: Economic Development for Black
• Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy
• Mighty Like a River: The Black Church and Social Reform
• The Black Church and God’s Technology
• Encouraging Expressions
• When a Pastor Show Up to at a Blacks Lives Matter Protest
• LA Changing Laws About Endorsements
• Church Security
• A New Pitch for God’s Resources
• Online Giving Works
• How to Handle Church Rip offs
• Church Fund Raising 101
• Church Growth 101