The Reverend Rashad Raymond Moore, Ph.D., is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York. 

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Dr. Moore earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Morehouse College, a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and both a Master of Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Education from Columbia University. His scholarly research centers on rituals, tradition, and imagination in historically Black education — work that has been published by Harvard Education Press, The Huffington Post, and the Philosophy of Education Society. He has served on the teaching faculty in the Philosophy of Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

 

Dr. Moore began his ministry at The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem under the legendary Rev. Calvin O. Butts III — a formative apprenticeship that shaped his understanding of the Black church as both a sanctuary and a force for social transformation. That formation has never left him.

 

In September 2019, he answered the call to become the third Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights — returning, as he often says, to his beloved Brooklyn. He began his pastorate just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, and led the congregation through an unprecedented season with pastoral imagination and steady resolve. What followed has been a resurgence of energy, engagement, and ministry — marked by a strengthened hybrid worship ministry, expanded opportunities for discipleship and formation, new initiatives across the congregation, and a $1.5 million Capital Campaign to renovate the church's historic home.

 

Dr. Moore is equally committed to ministry in the public square. As a leader with East Brooklyn Congregations, he has been a persistent advocate for affordable housing and pathways to homeownership in Central Brooklyn. His voice on faith, politics, and culture has been sought by some of the most respected platforms in American media — including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He serves on the Board of Directors of American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York and has received numerous honors for leadership and service, including induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College