Pastor Jimmie D. Givens and First Lady Zita Givens
A native of Charleston, South Carolina, whose parents are Beatrice and the late Deacon Leroy Givens. He is wedded to the former Zita E. Benton, they have one child, Gabrielle.
The underpinnings of his Christian experience occurred under the seasoned leadership of Pastor Levy White. Reverend Givens was baptized at Promise land Baptist Church. Later under the tutelage and Pastoral leadership of Rev. Be Louis Colleton, (Shiloh Baptist Church located in Landover, Maryland), there he matured in spiritual knowledge and received his call from God. Being submissive to his calling, in 1999 he stood in the presence of the congregation and professed, “God has called me to minister to His people.” Later he was licensed by Shiloh Baptist Church to preach the gospel. Upon the recommendation of Pastor Colleton, after a period of intense preparation in 2003 Rev. Givens was sanctioned by the National Capital Baptist Convention as an ordained minister. In the fall of 2017, he was installed as Pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church of Upper Marlboro.
He was awarded the BS in Mathematics by Voorhees College and the Master of Public Health in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina, and he was a student of Divinity at Capitol Bible Seminary, with a targeted interest in Biblical Theology. He has been a qualified instructor for the National Baptist Convention; and has served as an instructor for the National Capital Congress on Christian Education. He has lectured on a variety of topics.
He is a former President of the National Capital Baptist Convention Associate Ministers Division; a former member of the Washington Area Trustee Fellowship Association; he was an Associate Minister and Minister of Christian Education at Shiloh Baptist Church; and coordinator of a ministry at Villa Rosa Nursing Home in Bowie, Maryland. He has served as an officer and member of the Boards of Directors for National and Local organizations. Also served as a member of the Saint Matthias Catholic School Board of Advisors. Rev. Givens has received numerous accolades and awards for his contributions to these arena. Professionally he was a mathematical statistician at the Centers for Disease Control. Having retired he founded Givens Consulting Services.
Rev. Givens is Godly, full of compassion toward God’s people. He leads not as one who places himself above others, rather he is a servant who welcomes being shoulder to shoulder in the trenches for Jesus Christ. He is an affable progressive professional, who chooses to be proactive.
His vision is to bring the body of believers into unity of faith by spiritually fortifying them with knowledge of Christ. Rev. Givens holds as his favorite verse “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess 5:18)