Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Afternoon Keynote Speaker

About Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

BISHOP JOSEPH WARREN WALKER, III, is the senior leader of the historic Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Nashville, Tennessee. He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana to Deacon Joseph and Mrs. Rosa Walker.

Bishop Walker received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; a Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He holds three honorary Doctorates from Meharry Medical College, Southern University, Kentucky State University, respectively.

Dr. Walker currently serves on the Board of Directors for Meharry Medical College and Citizens Savings Bank & Trust. In October 2016, he was appointed by former TN Governor Bill Haslam to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Tennessee State University, where he has since been unanimously re-elected in 2019. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Kappa Kappa Psi Band Fraternity.

Bishop Walker currently serves as the International Presiding Bishop in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. In July 2013, he was chosen to succeed the founding International Presiding Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr.

In 1992, at the age of 24, Bishop Walker began his pastorate at Mt. Zion with 175 members. Presently, the ministry has grown to over 30,000 and continues to grow at a phenomenal rate of over 1,000 souls per year. Under his leadership, Mt. Zion has expanded beyond its original location on historic Jefferson Street to eight weekly services in three physical locations and also includes a worldwide virtual church location, www.mtzionanywhere.tv, which ministers to millions around the world, as well as a weekly broadcast on that reaches 15 million viewers worldwide.

A prolific writer, Dr. Walker is a best-selling author of twelve books. Restored at the Root, his latest literary piece, shows you how to deal with life issues not just from a spiritual perspective but a practical landscape. This book goes a step further by discussing the intersection between spiritual authority and clinical spiritual counseling. That way, you can identify the underlying issues at work, which can help save your life, marriage, and family. He and his wife, Dr. Stephaine, coauthored a book together entitled, Becoming A Couple of Destiny.

His inspirational messages make him a sought-after university commencement speaker and orator in diverse spaces. Bishop Walker is a regular guest on the Rickey Smiley Radio Show as well as a host of other nationally syndicated radio shows that reach millions across the United States. He also has been a guest on CNN, Politics Nation with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, The CBS Morning News, CBN, the 700 Club, Sister Circle, The Roland Martin Show and authors a monthly Op-Ed in the Tennessee Tribune, entitled, Reset.

He is married to the former Dr. Stephaine M. Hale, a health & beauty entrepreneur who recently retired as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Vanderbilt University. Both agree that their most joyous accomplishments to date have been the birth of their daughter, Jovanni Willow, who was born in May 2012, and their son, Joseph Warren Walker, IV, born February 2018.