Rev. Dr. John H. Vaughn

Denomination: American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA)
Organization: The Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA

Rev. Dr. John H. Vaughn serves as Executive Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the historic congregation known as America's Freedom Church and the spiritual home of Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Working closely with Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, he helps manage the overall vision, ministries, and operations of this iconic, international congregation.

Before coming to Ebenezer, Rev. Vaughn served for almost ten years as Executive Vice President at Auburn Theological Seminary, a national leadership development and research institute that equips leaders of faith and moral courage for multifaith movements for justice. Earlier, he was Program Director for the Twenty-First Century Foundation, which advanced strategic giving for Black community change, and Executive Director of the Peace Development Fund, which provides funding, training, and assistance for grassroots peace and justice organizing. He also served as Minister for Education and Social Justice at The Riverside Church in New York City under Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, and as executive director of East Harlem Interfaith.

Rev. Vaughn co-chairs the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration, which he helped launch in 2019 alongside Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock along with Rabbis Peter Berg and Lydia Medwin. Rev. Vaughn and Rev. Vaughn helped co-found Faith Rooted ATL, a faith-based organizing effort in Atlanta.

An ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches USA, Rev. Vaughn earned his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, his Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and his Doctor of Ministry from Drew Theological School. Holy Cross honored him with its 2015 Sanctae Crucis Award for his work on justice, race, economic equity, and education.