About Our Pastor

We are thankful for the past and those who led us to this point and we are excited to see what God has in store for us in the future.  We welcome our new pastor, Dr. Marco McNeil to the Early Grove Church family.

Reverend Dr. Marco D. McNeil is the fourth child born to Ms. Fannie McNeil. He was born in Cleveland, OH and there he received his elementary education from St. Joseph in Collingwood and the Euclid School District before graduating from Glenville High School. He has studied at Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary (formally New Life Theological Seminary) in Charlotte, NC. He is a Master of Divinity graduate of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Dr. McNeil is 2021 Doctoral Graduate of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. His Doctoral Thesis title was: Reimagining the Paradigm: A Trilateral Approach for Integrating Generations Y and Z into Intergenerational Ministry.

Since his early youth, Dr. McNeil has always been in the ministry of the church. At Starlight Missionary Baptist Church, in East Cleveland, Ohio he was licensed to preach the Gospel and has done so by remaining relevant, preaching with spiritual power while keeping academic integrity and keeping Jesus Christ at the center. As a student of the African American Preaching Tradition and Practical Theology, he contributes his preaching formation to his spiritual father Dr. Peter M. Wherry as well as other mentors such as, Dr. John W. Kinney, Dr. James Henry Harris and Dr. Marvin McMickle.

While in Charlotte, God has continued to open many doors for Rev. McNeil. He has served as Administrative Assistant to the Sr. Pastor and Minister of Youth at Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church. He has served as Regional Chaplain of the Ohio Valley Region of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. serving over 4,000 men in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia from 2009-2015. Also, in 2015 Rev. McNeil was accepted as a Clinical Pastoral Intern for the Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Salisbury, North Carolina in which he completed in May 2016. In 2017, he was selected as one of the Emerging Preachers by the Cleveland Baptist Association/ American Baptist Churches. In July 2017, he served as a Resident Mentor in the STREAM Youth Theology Institute and Program Assistant, serving some of the

brightest teen theological minds in the country. Dr. McNeil has served as the Executive Director of Zachariah Alexander Community Development Corporation where they built $18 million dollars of affordable housing in the Belmont Community. He also serves on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend Steering Committee for the City of Charlotte. Dr. McNeil currently serves as the Pastor for Young Adults at Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church.

In July 2022, Rev. McNeil will celebrate eleven years of marriage to the educated and lovely Mrs. Briana McNeil (formerly Nickols). They are the grateful parents of three children, Jamari & Marco, Jr. (Deuce), and Saniyah Nova. The McNeil’s describe themselves as a ministry team prepared to do the work of the Lord.