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• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 5/21/2009 12:47 PM UTC

  Meet Patti Webster and Dr. Debora Hooper
  

  
  

       Publicist and head lady at W & W Public Relations, home of Jermaine Dupri, Janet Jackson and other high-profile celebrities, adds author to her credits with first book release “It Happened in Church: Stories of Humor from the Pulpit to the Pews.”

       The book is published by Souls of My Sisters/Kensington Books and arrives in stores September 3, 2008.

       “A few years ago, God dropped in my spirit to write a book that celebrate laughter,” Webster stated about why she wrote the book.

       She says laughter is one of the greatest emotions that God ever created and feels that laughter is an emotion that can bring a smile through one's tears or joy through one's pain.

       The book will be available in Borders, Barnes & Nobles and at Amazon.com.

       Church has long been seen as a stringent, boring, strict place. But as we all know, church can be so much fun she says! The real life stories in the book will hopefully change this perspective and non-believers will see that although many have decided to follow Jesus, God did not exempt laughter from being inside His sacred houses of prayer or from the many that trust in Him.

       Webster is the daughter of Pastor Pat Webster and has a family history of women in church leadership roles. Patti herself is involved in her mothers’ church, Shiloh Pentecostal Church, started by Patti’s great-grandmother in 1929. She is also an ordained deacon, church administrator over the youth ministry, and pastor’s aid at the Sommerville, New Jersey church.

       For more information go to www.w-wpr.com

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  Dr. Hooper, unlike most preachers, hails straight from the hip-hop world! At the tender age of 13, she became formerly known as M.C. Debbie D, one of the world’s first of three female rappers from the Bronx, New York. Exalted for her extraordinary ability as a young female rapper, she hit the hip-hop world hard as the first female soloist. She later recorded several rap albums and then became internationally known as one of the Us-Girls in the hip-hop movie, Beat Street (Orion Pictures), produced by renown actor and singer, Harry Belafonte. (Click video to see a clip of this movie.)

   

  However, at the age of 25, the entertainment world became a dark place for Dr. Hooper and she sensed a need for a change in her life. Surrendering her former career, she gave her life to the Lord Jesus Christ and began to embark upon her spiritual journey and destiny. Through a strong commitment to prayer and Bible study, God began to do a “quick work” with Dr. Hooper and she soon emerged as a prolific Evangelist in the Body of Christ. Her strong passion to teach and preach the Gospel caused many churches and major conferences to embrace her gift worldwide in services where thousands of souls were saved, set freed, and delivered. Dr. Hooper has always been abundantly thankful to God for being chosen with such a gift, but mainly, as she so often says, “for saving me, redirecting my passion, and putting the mic back in my hand!”

   

  From a young age, Dr. Hooper has always been in church, but over the last two decades since receiving Christ, she has been an active, faithful member of two churches, Greater Emmanuel Temple, (the late) Bishop Allen McDaniel and Pilgrim Cathedral of Harlem, (the late) Bishop Charles J. Reed. In the former, she served in prominent positions as Radio Broadcast Announcer, Church Announcer, Worship and Praise Leader, Sunday School Teacher and then in 1993, as the first woman in the ministry to be ordained to the Office of the Evangelist.

   

  In her quest to pursue education and biblical training for her new calling, she earned one secular degree at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, New York and five theological degrees (all summa cum laude) with the last being her Doctorate in Ministry (2001) at the Hugee Theological Institute in Harlem, New York. Interestingly, she started as a humble student in biblical studies who knew NOTHING about the Bible and then matriculated to a faculty member and professor of Undergraduate Studies, specializing in Greek New Testament and twice receiving The Greek Award.

   

  Although Dr. Hooper has been blessed to receive a wealth of theological knowledge, her greatest influence and spiritual deposit was received from her spiritual father and Pastor, (the late) Bishop Charles J. Reed, Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Cathedral of Harlem. For over a decade, while serving under his tutelage as an Associate Minister and Youth Spiritual Supervisor, Dr. Hooper became profoundly equipped with the skills of leadership, character, and protocol. These proficient skills, along with two decades of evangelistic experience, would eventually prepare her to be the first African American, and woman, to write and publish a practical, non-denominational ministry handbook for new and aspiring ministers. This, her first book, entitled Hooper’s Evangelist & Minister’s Handbook (Everything You Need To Know Before You Go) (Xulon Press) was released in December 2006 and is now noted as a “must read” for all ministers. In addition, it is now being widely used by many pastors, ministers, churches, and bible schools as a required textbook to assist in clergy development.   In addition, Dr. Hooper shares her ministerial knowledge with other ministers and pastors in her Ministry Mentoring Seminars held throughout the Tri-state area and wherever requested. 

   

  As Dr. Hooper continued to serve faithfully as an Evangelist, she was appointed in 1999 as the National Evangelist and National Head - Department of Evangelist of the Pilgrim Assemblies International in Brooklyn, New York, under the leadership of Chief Prelate, Archbishop Roy E. Brown. Several years later, Dr. Hooper received a divine call to the Office of Pastor, and during a public ceremony in June 2004, was installed as the Founder and Pastor of the Greater Works Worship Center in Brooklyn, New York. This sacred ceremony would always hold a special place in Dr. Hooper’s heart because her mother finally relinquished doctrinal differences and gave her prayers and blessings to her new divine call.

   

  During Dr. Hooper’s ministerial career, she has founded such ministries as: Debora Hooper Ministries, “Us Girls Can” and “Us Girls Can 2”, an empowerment ministry for women and teen girls. She has been featured in The New York Times addressing challenges with women in ministry and The Amsterdam News.  Presently, she is a monthly columnist for The Christian Observer and ministry etiquette writer for www.Preachingwoman.com.  Lastly, she is listed as a pioneer female m.c. in the hip-hop book, Yes, Yes Yall!, which is used in schools and black colleges around the country for studies on the culture of hip-hop.

   

  Dr. Debora Hooper, a happily single Woman of God, loves the Lord and the work of  the ministry.  She gives God all the praise for the great things He has done in her life and ministry but yet believes that even a Greater Work and blessing is in store!

   

  www.deborahooper.com  (she is on twitter and facebook too)
  

   

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  • Souls of my Sisters
  • It Happened in Churc
  • Hooper's Evangelist
  • Christian living
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