District Elder James Hawkins
Senior Pastor
District Elder James Hawkins has been faithful to his calling as evidenced by his passion and enthusiasm for preaching God’s Word. His walk with Christ spans more than 30 years. He grew up working in a church in Columbia, TN and Youngstown, Ohio. He was called to the ministry at a young age, both as a musician and a preacher. In 1998, Pastor Hawkins founded Higher Praise Christian Center in Toledo, Ohio. He served as Senior Pastor of Higher Praise until April 2011 when God directed him to another plateau in His service. Listening attentively to the voice of God, he was charged to make a transition to Indianapolis, Indiana where he currently serves as one of the Executive Pastors of Christ Church Apostolic.
Pastor Hawkins is thankful and recognizes that he has been mentored by some most influential spiritual leaders of the 21st century, they include his father, Bishop Ernest Hawkins, Bishop Paul A. Bowers, Bishop Jerry L. Maynard, Bishop Pat McKinstry, Bishop James Laverne Tyson, and Bishop C. Shawn Tyson. Currently Elder Hawkins serves under Bishop C. Shawn Tyson as an Executive Pastor of Christ Church Apostolic in Indianapolis.
Elder Hawkins is professionally known and recognized as a church planter, he has the God- given ability to launch ministries, by establishing 501c3’s and ensuring that non-profit organizations are IRS compliant under his company Vision Writers, Inc. Pastor Hawkins is the Founder of James Hawkins Ministries they are responsible for the Annual JHM Scholarship program and more recently the ministry is involved in ongoing efforts to raise cancer awareness in under served communities.
The power of God’s redeeming love is shared in the recently released book written by Pastor James Hawkins, titled Spiritual Indictment. Pastor Hawkins’ passion is to serve God’s people with all humility because he realizes that if it had not been for the Lord on his side and, there is no imaginative thought to where his life would be.
Pastor James Hawkins is married to his ministry partner, Dr. Angela Lewis-Hawkins, they have one daughter together Alexis, three sons-Norman, Channing, and Alex and one goddaughter Quiana.
Pastor Hawkins is blessed to serve as the Senior Pastor of The Faith Place Church. He is excited about what God is doing and more importantly he is excited to share the message of faith in God and His life changing power.
Dr. Angela Lewis-Hawkins
First Lady
Dr. Angela Lewis-Hawkins is a Lover of God, Servant Leader, Wife, Mother and Educator. She was saved under the ministry of the late Bishop Fred Majors & Elder Andrew Lofton of Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Church, Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Hawkins pursuit for excellence started in grade school, she finished high school early and started college. Her parents, Deacon Elay & Sis. Geneva Lewis served as her role models for learning how to serve God. Giving God your time, energy, talent and resources were taught to her at a young age. Throughout high school she was faithful to the ministry, being taught and believing that putting God first all things are possible.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication with an emphasis in Business Administration from Wilberforce Univ., she went on to earn a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Antioch University and in 2013 completed all the coursework needed to earn a Ph. D. in Educational Leadership from Purdue University.
Dr. Lewis-Hawkins is passionate and committed to helping others pursue education, she believes this is the path that will empower others to understand their purpose and to effectively push God’s Word forward in the 21st century.
Currently, Dr. Hawkins serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Academics for the Verona Area School District, Verona, WI. Prior to this she served as a school principal for more than 15 years, additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at Indiana University, and serves on a variety of professional boards. Dr. Hawkins coaches’ educators and mentors’ leaders. However, her most important work is serving God’s people by using her professional experiences and education to help further the ministry. She has served in various leadership roles at Christ Church Apostolic, Indianapolis, IN roles for more than 18 years and now she is proud to serve alongside her husband, Pastor Hawkins as the First Lady of The Faith Place Church, Sun Prairie, WI.