About the Executive Conference Minister

The Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin, a Chicago native, began as the first Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference on Jan. 1, 2021.  He is also the first openly LGBT black person to serve as an Executive Conference Minister in the United Church of Christ.

As the Chief Vision-Keeper, he is responsible for guiding the conference and its affiliates to have a positive and lasting impact in our world.

The Rev. Goodwin is a member of the United Church of Christ Board, the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, and the Global Ministries Board. 

He brings to his varying leadership roles extensive experience in pastoral ministry and higher education. He served as an Associate Conference Minister for the Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota Conferences, and has served as Pastor and Founder of Liberation United Church of Christ in Seattle, Everett United Church of Christ and Chaplain Intern at VA Puget Sound Health Systems). Before full-time ministry, he served in several positions in Jesuit higher education, including Assistant Director of Student Life for Judicial Affairs, Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs, Acting Director of Multicultural Affairs, Assistant Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students, and Dean of Students.  

In his 20 years of ministerial experience, the Rev. Goodwin has also served as Assistant Vice President of the Youth Department at Chicago’s Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ;  Youth Pastor and Staff Minister of Mason Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Dorchester, Massachusetts;  Pastoral Intern at St. Paul AME Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Pastor and Founder of ALANA (African, Latin, Asian, and Native American) Campus Ministry at the University of Vermont, and Staff Minister at Second Advent Christian Church in Omaha.  

The Rev. Goodwin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Theology from Boston College; a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from The University of Vermont; a Master of Arts in Transforming Spirituality from Seattle University; and is currently a doctoral candidate in San Francisco Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program where his dissertation topic is, " Praying Through: Using group spiritual direction as a strategy for the retention of African American men in predominately white seminaries in the United Church of Christ (UCC). In his spare time, he is an avid dinner party host, an amateur bartender, and is committed to bridge building.

The Rev. Goodwin can be reached through Executive Assistant Hillary Sage.

Rev. Goodwin Introduces Himself:

(For other videos with The Rev. Goodwin, please visit this section of our video page.)