Dr. Parnell M. Lovelace, Jr. is the founding and senior pastor of the Center of Praise Ministries of Sacramento, Calif., where he has served for over 32 years as the church has grown to over 2650 in attendance. Dr. Lovelace received his Bachelors of Arts, Oral Roberts University; Master of Social Work, University of Oklahoma; Master of Practical Theology, Oral Roberts University; Doctor of Ministry, Talbot School of Theology; and a Ph.D., Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University. He has served as the North American editor for the Great Commission Research Journal and has authored Set it Up: Planning a Healthy Pastoral Transition. He was inducted into the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. International Board of Preachers and Collegium Scholars at Morehouse College.