This summer, Riverside is going into revival! For four Sundays, in the spirit of old-time church revivals, we will feature guest preachers and special music during our morning worship services.

Revivals are a time for the church to gather in worship, be refreshed, restored, renewed, and revived. They offer encouragement and spiritual strength, enabling us to engage in ministry with fresh eyes and new energy.

Rev. Dr. Allison M. Henderson-Brooks, a scholar, preacher, consultant and speaker Allison is the perfect combination of skill, wit, personality, passionate energy and insight.  A native of Peachtree City, GA, Allison is a proud graduate at Atlanta’s historic Spelman College where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature in 2008. In May of 2019, Allison received her Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In this capacity, she served as Arthur Vinings Davis Fellow for her work at Lee Arrendale State Women’s Prison, the largest Women’s Prison in the State of Georgia, working primarily with 150 women who have been given life sentences. She was apart of the inaugural class of Westside Fellows for Candler and worked as the research assistant for The Rev. Dr. Robert M. Franklin in the Laney Legacy Program for Moral Leadership. She also was the President of the Baptist Students Association and Co-Chair of the Senior Class gift committee. In April 2024, Allison earned her Doctor of Ministry in Womanist Preaching at Memphis Theological Seminary.  Professionally for 9 years, Allison mastered the art of hospitality serving successfully in the disciplines of Operations Management, Systems Implementation and Revenue Management Systems. For 7 of those years, she has served in leadership positions within 3 of the world’s iconic and largest hotel brands having been recognized globally for her contributions.  Allison has served as the inaugural Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Program Coordinator for the Doctor of Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology at Emory. Currently, Allison is the Assistant Dean of Students at Candler School of Theology.

Baptized on June 2, 1992 at the Olivet Baptist Church in Fayetteville, GA by the late Rev. Howard W. Creecy Sr. and licensed to preach this liberating gospel of Jesus Christ on February 21, 2016, Allison seeks to be a bold witness and example of love throughout the world. On May 19, 2019 she was ordained in the Baptist Tradition by Pastor Tamarkus Cook and the Saint Smyrna Baptist Church. Her first ministry position was serving as a Youth Pastor at Fellowship of Love Church in Fayetteville, Ga under the pastoral leadership of Rev. BaSean A. Jackson. Allison absolutely loves observing young people come to their own understanding of who God is but most importantly creating environments for them to answer definitively who God is to them. Allison has also served as Pastor of Congregational Development, Youth & Young Adults at New Life Presbyterian Church under the leadership of Rev. Hodari S. Williams for 3 and half years. She has also proudly served as an Associate Minister at the historic Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Damon P. Williams, PhD. In November 2022, Rev. Henderson-Brooks was called as the first woman Senior Pastor of the Historic Hill First Baptist Church in Athens, GA.  All in all, serving, teaching, lecturing, preaching, learning, growing, inspiring and being authentically herself at all times is one of her life’s greatest joys. The ability to operate in the knowledge that her purposed passion comes from serving people and seeing them striving diligently to make their dreams become realities is the motivation behind all that Allison does. She truly is concerned with people being their best in all aspects of life.  Allison’s goals, dreams and aspirations in life are embodied in this quote by Benjamin Elijah Mays that simply states, “In all that you do strive to do it so well that no man living, no man dead, and no man yet to be born can do it better.”

Allison is also a sought-after itinerant preacher who is passionately committed to social justice, scholastic achievement, and community service. A nationally recognized orator, Mrs. Henderson-Brooks has addressed numerous schools, churches, civic organizations, and other bodies across the United States and abroad. One of the most notable was her recognition of being the youngest female to render the annual Martin Luther King Jr. observance speech for the United States Department of Energy in 2001. In January of 2006, Allison garnered another groundbreaking achievement by serving as keynote speaker for the Penn State University System’s Martin Luther King Jr. convocation. This convocation was the first school-wide observance of this National holiday in the history of the institution.  In May of 2016, she was blessed and humbled to be the first woman to ever preach a revival at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Oliver, GA. This church has an almost 200-year history and still sits on the land purchased by slaves. Her entire life has been filled with historic firsts and she gives God all the glory.  She is humbled and vocally grateful for every opportunity given to stir up the gift in any forum that inspires others through innovative methods, messages, and interactions.

Allison is happily married to an amazing and supporting husband and they are the amazingly blessed parents to an inquisitive and adventurous 12-year-old son. In her leisure, she enjoys traveling, learning languages, and connecting with family and friends.