Reverend Dr. Samuel E. Hayward, III

Dr. Samuel E. Hayward, III was born into a family of ministers and he is a fourth-generation preacher who grew up in the AME Church. He was a child of the parsonage whose father, Reverend Samuel Hayward, was a well-known AME Pastor in the Bermuda Conference of the First Episcopal District. He was nurtured and trained as a youth lay leader at Vernon Temple AMEC in Southampton, Bermuda. In 1970 he was licensed as a local preacher at Vernon Temple AMEC in Southampton, Bermuda. Shortly thereafter, he met and was mentored by Reverend Philip R. Cousin, now Bishop Cousin, and was admitted into the Western North Carolina Conference. In 1974, he was elected and ordained an Itinerant Elder in the North Carolina Conference by Bishop Henry Wendell Murph.

 

Elder Hayward matriculated at Kittrell College, Hampton University, (graduating cum laude). He was inducted in the Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society. He also matriculated at Trinity Theological Seminary, and the University of Miami where he received certification in Drug Abuse Counseling. In 2013, The Seminary of the Apostles in Norfolk, VA conferred upon him an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters in recognition of his outstanding ministry career, and the distinction with which he has served the communities and churches he has pastored.

 

Elder Hayward has a servant spirit - he has served God and the AME Church in many capacities, and has received recognition for the work God has done through him:

• Before the age of 40 years old, he led two congregations in major building programs – St. James AME Church, Kinston, NC erected a new sanctuary in 1975; and Macedonia AME Church, Accomac, VA erected a new sanctuary in 1988.

• Assisted in establishing and parented a new Church in Baltimore, MD – Bethlehem AME Church

• Pastored in the North Carolina, Virginia, Baltimore and Washington Conferences, and has served on the Board of Examiners each of those conferences.

• Served as Chief Secretary of the Virginia Conference for 15 years

• Led Bethel AME Church, Hampton in a double Mortgage Burning

• Conference Treasurer of the Baltimore Conference for 2 years

• Elected as a delegate to represent the 2nd District at nine General Conference sessions;

• He has birthed and nurtured 42 sons and daughters in the Christian Ministry.

• Former President, NAACP, Accomack County

• Provided spiritual leadership and presence to the Mayoral leadership, City of District Heights, MD

• Former Board Chair for Delmarva Rural Ministries – a Health Ministry Consortium for Migrant Farmworker families, Eastern Shore.

• Dr. Hayward has a specific calling/gift to nurture and restore broken lives, a ministry of healing and restoration.

• Honored by Radio One Station Praise 104.1 as one of the 2010 Pastors of the Year.in Washington, DC

• Well-known national and international revivalist

 

PASTORAL EXPERIENCE:

• 1973 – 74 Pastor, Warrenton Circuit (St. Elizabeth & Oak Chapel AME Churches) North Carolina Conference

• 1974 – 76 Pastor, St. James AME Church, Kinston, North Carolina

• 1976 - 80 Pastor, St. Stephen AME Church, Wilmington, North Carolina

• 1980 - 88 Pastor, Macedonia AME Church, Accomac, Virginia

• 1988 – 2001 Pastor, Bethel AME Church, Hampton, Virginia

• 2001 – 2005 Pastor, Waters AME Church, Baltimore, Maryland

• 2005 – 2018 Pastor, Hemingway Memorial AME Church, District Heights, Maryland

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Elder Hayward is a loving husband to his life-long partner in ministry, the Reverend Althea J. Hayward, and their union of 48 years has produced two daughters: Kimberly Hayward, and the Reverend Kristina Hayward, also an ordained AME minister. They have one beautiful granddaughter, Sydnee Grace, who is the apple of her grandfather’s eye.

 

More than anything, Dr. Hayward is a child of God who is committed to and excited about preaching and teaching God’s Word. He is a dynamic, Spirit-filled Preacher of the Gospel and is a diligent church administrator with a God-given pastoral gift. His record as a loving mentor, nurturer, motivator, confidante and friend is known across the Second Episcopal District and the AME Church.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!