Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Williams Jr.

Contact information:

Designation: Visiting Professor of Preaching and Worship

Email: rwwilliams@mccormick.edu 

Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Williams Jr. is Visiting Professor of Preaching and Worship at McCormick Theological Seminary and Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of University Park. A pastor, preacher, scholar, and author, his ministry is grounded in prophetic preaching, liberation theology, and a deep commitment to social justice. At McCormick, he also provides leadership for the Seminary’s weekly worship services, helping cultivate spaces for spiritual formation, communal reflection, and faithful engagement.

A Chicago native, Dr. Williams was raised in a family that understood spirituality as serving God through service to God’s people—particularly in the pursuit of liberation. He is a cum laude graduate of Florida A&M University and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. He also earned both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

Dr. Williams is co-author, with Minister Danielle Ayers, of To Serve This Present Age: Social Justice Ministries in the Black Church. He shares his life and ministry with his wife, Nikita Nichelle Williams, and their daughters, Nia Mar’Celle and Laila Imani.