Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Suffolk Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (S.I.M.A.) along with President Dr. Anita Lewis and revival chairman, Rev. Dr. Stephen Johnson announced it will host the 48th annual Suffolk Citywide Revival from Tuesday, April 23, 2024, through Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 7 p.m. each night. The annual revival will be located at St. Paul Church, 619 Spruce St., Suffolk, Virginia 23434, where Pastor Derrick Grant, Sr. will be the host Pastor.

The revival features a host of special speakers focused on this year’s theme, “Pivoting Through the Pandemic for a Greater Commitment to the Kingdom.” 

The Rev. Anthony Sommerville says he looks forward to the city and surrounding communities support and attend the annual revival. 

“It is our hope that the city and surrounding communities will be able to support this “citywide Revival” with your prayers, attendance, and financial support as we gather from the lengths and breaths of this city to make a resounding “pivot” as we reposition and rethink our commitment to the Kingdom,” 

The schedule for this year’s event will be;

Tuesday, April 23 — Rev. Dr. D. Tyrone Brandon, Sr., President of VBSC, Inc. and Senior Pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church, Norfolk.

A native of Alton and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Rev. Dr. Darran Tyrone Brandon, Sr., is the Pastor at the historic First Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk. He was licensed to preach the Gospel in 1984 by Rev. Dr. Richard H. Dixon and the Macedonia Baptist Church, Mount Vernon, New York. In 1985, Pastor Brandon was called to serve as the Children and Youth Pastor of Zion Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. He served there until 1993, when he received the call to serve concurrently at Saint Mark Church of Dabney as Children and Youth Pastor and Tabernacle Baptist Church of Chesterfield as Director of Christian Education. 

He currently serves as President of the Virginia Baptist State Convention, as well as the South Eastern Regional Vice President Moderator Division, National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. Former Moderator of Bethany Baptist Association, Baptist General Convention Executive Board. Former Treasurer of Young Pastor and Minister Department of Virginia Baptist State Convention, Baptist General Convention Board of Evangelism, NAACP and SCLC. He served as President of the United Churches of Dinwiddie and United Fellowship of Churches Sussex. He also serves on various boards of community and civic organizations. In 1996 and 1998, Pastor Brandon was the recipient of The Outstanding Young Men of America award.

Pastor Brandon attended Virginia Union University and is a 2014 graduate of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology. Rev. Brandon is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry as a member of the Beta Cohort of Leonard N. Smith Fellows at Virginia University of Lynchburg, VA, and has received several honorary doctorates.

Wednesday, April 24 — Bishop Yvonne Wright-Dunn, Senior Pastor of The Birthing Place Worship Center, Portsmouth.

Bishop Yvonne Wright-Dunn is the founder and Senior Pastor of the Birthing Place Worship Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. A called church planter and visionary, Bishop Dunn launched the Birthing Place ministry in 2009 alongside her late husband, Elder Hershell Paul Dunn, Jr.  

Bishop Dunn graduated from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She received her Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in Christian Education from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. She also obtained a Doctorate of Ministry with a concentration in New Church Plants — Leadership from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology. 

Bishop Dunn serves on the board of various nonprofit organizations in addition to serving as the Director of Ministry Affairs for the Gethsemane Family of Churches, under the leadership of Apostle Earl C. Hinton of Bethel Temple Church in Portsmouth, and the founder of P.U.S.H Ministries, a woman’s centered ministry for empowering today’s Christian women.  She is also the co-founder of Onward Enterprise, a personalized management service that offers a holistic approach to wealth management.

Bishop Dunn served 31 years as an administrative director in the medical field, spanning various fields, including Neurology, Sleep Disorders, and Cardiology, before retiring in 2020 to full-time ministry.   

Thursday, April 25 — Rev. Dr. Kirk T. Houston, Sr. — Senior Pastor of Gethsemane Community Fellowship Church, Norfolk.

The Reverend Dr. Kirk T. Houston, Sr. is the founder and senior pastor of the Gethsemane Community Fellowship Baptist Church located in Norfolk. A ministry he has proudly led for over 30 years.

Dr. Houston has committed his life to improving the quality of human life through programs and services that serve disenfranchised individuals, families, and communities. He is also a certified leadership trainer with Leadership Training International (LTI) and a frequent lecturer in leadership and organizational development.

Pastor Houston has a heart for the community and has served on many boards. Among his many obligations, he passionately serves as the Chaplain to the City of Norfolk’s Sheriff’s Office, Chairman of the Norfolk Jail Ministry’s Board of Directors, and Chairman of the Garden of Hope Community Development Corporation Board of Directors. He is also the author of “The Church’s Return Policy: Equipping the Church to Minister to Ex-offenders.”

Dr. Houston holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and a Masters of Divinity degree from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at the historical Virginia Union University in Richmond. Dr. Houston is a native of South Florida and a U.S. Navy Veteran.