About Dr Dolphus Weary
What did rural Mississippi have to offer a young black man in the 60s? He could stay in the system and live in poverty, he could join the civil rights movement and protest, or he could leave. “Someday I’m leaving Mississippi and I ain’t never comin’ back,” was Dolphus’ dream (I Ain’t Comin Back is about his life story). Dolphus did leave in 1969 and became one of the first black students ever to graduate from the all-white Los Angeles Baptist College with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology. In 1971, he received a Masters of Religious Education Degree (M.R.E.) from Los Angeles Baptist Seminary and a Masters in Educational Administration (M. Ed) from the University of Southern Mississippi. He returned to Mississippi to work with Mendenhall Ministries, a multi-faceted Christian Community Development ministry, where he served from 1971 through 1997. In 1973, Dolphus was ordained to the ministry, and in 1997, he received a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS.
Dolphus has received four honorary Doctoral Degrees including one from Belhaven College in Jackson and Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, PA. In 2004, he received the distinguished Meritorious Leadership Award from Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, MS.
Currently Dolphus serves part time as the President of Rural Education and Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Christian Foundation (A foundation connecting Economic and Technical Resources with Rural Christian Ministries) and part time as the major fundraiser for Mission Mississippi (a racial reconciliation ministry that encourages unity within the Body of Christ).
Dolphus additionally serves as a member of several national and local board of directors, advisory boards and committees including Belhaven College, Catholic Charities, (CCDA) Christian Community Development Association Advisory Board, ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), IVCF (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship), (KMB) Keep Mississippi Beautiful, MRLC (Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference), Transformation Jackson, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation Advisory Board and WorldVision.
Dolphus and his wife Rosie are the parents of three children: Danita, who lives in Natchez, MS; Ryan, who is a student at Belhaven College; and Reggie, who went home to be with the Lord in June of 2004.
