Rev.
Dr. Lonnie Dawson
Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson is a native of Goldsboro,
North Carolina.
Dr. Dawson is the founding Pastor and organizer of
the New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Los Angeles
where he has served for forty three years. The membership
of this church has grown from its humble beginning
of six members to over three thousand members.
Under his ministry God has blessed him to lead
the congregation into many building programs. The
church sponsors a Child Care Center, an Elementary
and Middle School. At the present time, the Sunday
School has an average attendance of 450 to 500 students
each Sunday Morning studying the Bible. The Church
is involved in many outreach ministries to the community,
i.e., Feeding, Triumphant Ministry (drug and alcohol
abuse ministry), Television, and Homebound.
Dr. Dawson served as President of the Southern
Area Clergy Council for ten years at which time they
developed the slogan “Keeping It Good, In The Hood.”
He served as Co-Chairman of AACKA an African American-Korean
group of pastors. He has been recognized by many
Community and Civic Leaders. He was awarded the
“Quality of Life Award” by the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority
Inc., in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in August,
1994. In May of 1999, Dr. Dawson was awarded a Doctor
of Humanities Degree (Honorary) from Cohon University
and Theological Seminary.
He has traveled extensively to Berlin, Germany;
Seoul, Korea; West Africa; and Jerusalem. He served
on the Executive Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
and also as President of the Minister's Fellowship
of the Crescent Bay West Los Angeles Association.
In March, 2005, he traveled to Haiti to dedicate
the well dug by New Mt. Calvary. Presently he is
leading the church in restoring a road which leads
to a church and school on the mountain in Haiti.
The road was destroyed by Hurricane in 2004. In 2005
after Hurricane Katrina, he was instrumental in bringing
together a group of ministers in the South Central
Los Angeles area and sent five truckloads of clothing
to the victims of the hurricane in New Orleans and
Mississippi.
Dr. Dawson is married to Mrs. Mamie Dawson. They
have been married for fifty years and are the proud
parents of two daughters - Sherri Lonnice Williams,
(an Assistant Principal and Minister of Music of
the New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church); and Minister
Sonja Richele Dawson (an Attorney at Law with the
City Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles); one grandson,
Lonnell Williams and one granddaughter, Lonnae Williams.
