OUR PASTORS
Meet the Pastors
Pastor David A. Porter
Pastor David A. Porter, Sr. is the founder and Senior Pastor of Excel Church. He is an anointed teacher and preacher of the gospel. Since May of 1989, Pastor Porter has been happily married to Co-Pastor Hope Porter. God has blessed them with five children: David Jr., Nathan, Sarah, Priscilla, and Faith.
Pastor Porter has a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a Masters in Sociology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He has also studied at the Washington Bible College and Refreshing Spring Bible Institute.
Pastor Porter was ordained as an Elder in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and has served in numerous roles in over 20 years of ministry to include Youth Leader, Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, Director of Prison Ministries, Minister/Elder, Chair of Elders and Ministers, and Vice Chair of the Pastors and Elders Council-GMF Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction (COGIC).
Despite the many positions he has held, Pastor Porter’s most comprehensive service has come in the area of outreach and evangelism. In this capacity, he has worked extensively in street witnessing, and door to door evangelism. Pastor Porter has also ministered in several prisons including those in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Jessup Maryland, and Lorton, Virginia. Pastor Porter served under the leadership of his mentor and former pastor, Dr. James E. Jordan, Jr. of the Refreshing Spring Church of God In Christ for more than 12 years before starting Excel Church.
Professionally, Pastor Porter has worked as an executive in the health care industry for the past 20 years. He is also an entrepreneur. In 2003, he co-founded (with his wife) Staffing Etc. a thriving health care staffing firm that services clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic area.
Pastor Porter lives by Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.”
Pastor Hope Porter
Hope McKinley Porter currently serves as Co-Pastor and founder of Excel Church of Bowie, Maryland. Raised in the Pentecostal church, Hope’s fundamental training and education are rooted in the Church of God In Christ (COGIC).
Accepting her call to ministry as a teenager, Hope has ministered in class rooms, inner city streets, churches and retreats. While in college at Howard University, she led a weekly bible study for her peers. She served as a Youth Leader in her local church and District leader of Youth to the sister COGIC churches of Baltimore, Maryland. For several years, while in Baltimore, Hope along with her husband hosted an annual summer youth bible study called JAM (Jesus and Me) sessions. Through this ministry, many were saved and instructed in the principles of faith through bible stories.
Hope has ministered to youth, women and married couples. She has been blessed and is gifted in many areas of ministry. Having worked in God’s service as a licensed Evangelist, New Members leader, Sunday School Teacher, Youth Leader and Trustee Board Chairperson, God has ordered her steps and given her many opportunities to participate in and see the hand of God work and move for His people. This experience has enabled her to expedite the ministry of God with confidence and effectiveness.
Hope is an anointed and gifted preacher. It has been said that her “down to earth and in your face” style of preaching makes her an effective messenger. This ability to connect with her audience allows for purposeful ministry.
A native of New York, Hope was raised in Baltimore and educated in Baltimore City Public Schools. She later attended Howard University majoring in Nursing and the University Of Maryland School Of Law. She is a Registered Nurse in several states and a member of the Maryland Bar. Her professional career includes work as a Psychiatric Nurse and Attorney. In 2003, she founded a health care staffing company along with her husband. The company provides services throughout the Mid-Atlantic States and Washington, DC. She has been married to her college sweetheart, Pastor David Porter since May of 1989 and they are the proud parents of five children, David, Jr., Nathan, Sarah, Priscilla and Faith.
Romans 8:32 says “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Armed with this liberty and challenge in Christ, Hope has forged a life pursuing the things of God and the works ordained for her life. Through her prophetic, spoken word and teaching ministry Co-Pastor Hope continues to impact the lives of many.
