MEET OUR PASTOR
REV. DR. DEBORA LAWSON-SMITH
Rev. Dr. Smith currently serves as Pastor of Persimmon Grove AMEC Greensboro NC and Pastored St. John AMEC Church, Nebo, North Carolina for seven years prior.
She has also served as Assistant Coordinator of Women in Ministry in the
Western North Carolina Conference of the 2nd Episcopal District. And currently serves as Chair on the Western District Community Development Corporation.
Rev. Dr. Debora Lawson Smith is the oldest child born to the late Sherman Lawson and Grace Marsh Haley both of High Point, North Carolina. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She has worked in the Mental Health system of Guilford County and LifeSpan Services Inc. for the past 30 years. She retired on February 5, 2016 to become a full-time Pastor. She also became a “bonus mom” along with her husband, to two young women who are considered intellectually disabled.
Dr. Smith was ordained an Itinerant Elder in May of 2004, in the 2nd Episcopal District, Western North Carolina Conference, by Bishop Vinton Randolph Anderson. She completed her undergraduate studies at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, with a BA in Sociology (Magnum Cum Laude). Dr. Smith went on to complete her graduate studies earning a Master of Theology (MTS) in biblical studies and a Master of Arts degree (MA) in Counseling/Pastoral Care from Carolina Evangelical Seminary in High Point, NC. On May 22, 2022, Dr. Smith earned her Doctoral of Ministry Degree from Hood Theological Seminary in
Salisbury, NC.
