Rich Wilkerson, Jr.

Rich Wilkerson, Jr.
Born Richard Preston Wilkerson, Jr.
(1984-03-28) March 28, 1984
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Lee University
Occupation Pastor
Spouse(s) DawnChere Wilkerson (2006–present)

Richard Preston "Rich" Wilkerson Jr. (born 28 March 1984) is a pastor in Miami Florida. He is currently the Senior Pastor of Vous Church which is located in downtown Miami.[1] He also hosts the annual Vous Conference held on South Beach at the historic Fillmore Theater. Vous Conference hosts thousands of delegates from around the world and is a catalyst for culture and the arts.

Early life and education

Wilkerson was born in Tacoma, Washington on 28 March 1984. His parents, Rich and Robyn Wilkerson, were evangelists at the time. When Wilkerson was fourteen his parents moved to Miami, Florida to pastor Trinity Church, an inner city church of a few hundred people in Miami Gardens. There Wilkerson completed high school at Westminster Academy and met his future wife, DawnChere Wilkerson, at 17 while on a trip to Nashville to visit his older brother. After completing high school he went to Lee University in Cleveland, TN and received his degree in 2007, graduating summa cum laude. He was married to DawnChere Wilkerson in August 2006 in her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. After graduating from Lee, Rich and DawnChere moved to Miami to work for his parents at Trinity Church.

Ministry

Rich and DawnChere moved to Miami after graduating from Lee University in May 2007 to work for Rich’s parents.[2] They both worked at Trinity Church and Wilkerson worked as Executive Pastor. In the Fall of 2007 Wilkerson and DawnChere began a young adult gathering called The Rendezvous. The Rendezvous was a gathering place every Tuesday night to “worship God and connect with others”. What started with twelve leaders (including several family members) grew over several years to be a gathering of over one thousand attendees weekly. The Rendezvous over time became known as “The Vous” and Tuesday the gathering day for the service as “VousDay”. The Rendezvous is a gathering that includes worship music, inspirational teaching, rap, spoken word, dance and other creative elements that continually vary.[3]

In 2009 Wilkerson started the annual Vous Conference. It was held at Trinity Church and the following year the conference was moved to the historic Fillmore Theater on South Beach. The conference is held annually and hosts delegates from around the world. In 2014 it was announced that Wilkerson would start a church in downtown Miami called Vous Church. It was released that it had been discussed for several years and that Trinity Church would be assisting in the downtown plant. Monthly gatherings have taken place throughout 2015 and in September 2015 the church is expected to launch.[4]

Wilkerson is the executive producer of Vous Worship, original music written and recorded by the Vous music team. The first full-length album “Into The Night” made it to #2 on the iTunes Christian charts in June 2014. The album was recorded live on New Year's Eve in the Miami Dade County Auditorium with thousands in attendance.[5]

WIlkerson is a host of the talk show Top3 which features popular Christian personalities and round table discussion on current news, which is broadcast on JUCE TV. He has hosted Top 3 since 2003 and has filmed several hundred episodes. His co-hosts have included Larissa Lam, Brandon Crouch, Reba Toney, Preston Pollard, Chad Hardcastle, and Bianca Peters. Wilkerson is also a frequent host on the TBN Network.

In 2014 Wilkerson officiated the marriage of Kim Kardashian to Kanye West in Florence, Italy.[6]

In addition to pastoring, Wilkerson is worldwide speaker and has logged over 2 million air miles. Wilkerson has spoken across America and in countries including Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, England, France, Sweden, Trinidad, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.

Television show

Wilkerson's reality TV show "Rich In Faith" premiered December 9, 2015 on the Oxygen television network.[7]

Books

Wilkerson has written one book called Sandcastle Kings (2015). The artwork for Sandcastle Kings was created by Kanye West and the Donda Creative Team.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Helling, Steve (October 8, 2014). / "Kim & Kanye's Reality TV-bound Pastor" Check |url= value (help). People Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Nick (July 2015). "Honor Thy Father". Miami Herald Indulge Magazine, article begins on page 96. Retrieved July 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Helling, Steve (October 8, 2014). / "Kim & Kanye's Reality TV-bound Pastor" Check |url= value (help). People Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ Helling, Steve (October 8, 2014). / "Kim & Kanye's Reality TV-bound Pastor" Check |url= value (help). People Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Menzie, Nicola (October 20, 2014). "Christian Post Talks Ministry Challenges With Rich Wilkerson, Jr.". Christian Post. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  6. ↑ Helling, Steve (October 8, 2014). / "Kim & Kanye's Reality TV-bound Pastor" Check |url= value (help). People Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ Helling, Steve (December 9, 2015). "Kim and Kanye's Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. on His New Reality Show: 'I Want to be Encouraging, not Discouraging'". People Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ Helling, Steve (June 23, 2015). / "See The Book Cover Kanye West Designed For His Pastor" Check |url= value (help). People Magazine. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ / "Pastor Rich Wilkerson Releases Debut Book" Check |url= value (help). Gospel Music Association News. June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
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