Since receiving Christ as his Savior at 12 and being called to preach the Gospel at 19, Reverend Lloyd Gary Ransom has pursued the love Christ gave him: preaching.
Rev. Ransom is the Senior Pastor at Greater Progressive Christian Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Under his leadership, Greater has embraced the mission of honoring God through discipleship—worshipping God, equipping believers, drawing the lost to Christ, and serving our neighbors. Rev. Ransom joined Greater’s leadership in 1989 as interim Pastor and was installed as Senior Pastor the following year.
Before moving to Arizona, Rev. Ransom was ordained at the New Guiding Light Missionary Baptist Church in Pasadena, CA under the mentoring of the late Reverend Roland R. Jenneford, Sr. From there, he was launched into leadership: first as a student Treasurer and later as the President of the Minister’s Lyceum at Bishop College in Dallas, TX. There he worked to develop and refine his calling, build lifelong friendships, and complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy.
Rev. Ransom’s obedience and the Lord’s favor granted him a place to grow and serve as an Associate Minister of Youth at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, TX alongside the late Dr. Manuel L. Scott, Sr. When the need arose in Phoenix, he responded to the request of Bishop Henry L. Barnwell to take up the mantle as pastor of the West Phoenix Progressive Baptist Church. Four years later, Rev. Ransom completed ongoing building and lot upgrades at the 51st and Virginia location to convert the four-bedroom house into a place where the Spirit of God could move freely among His people. Such active faith came at the cost of growing the church family over the next decade from 40 members to over 1,000 lives changed.
In March 1997, the name of the church was changed to Greater Progressive Christian Church to reflect a spiritual relocation for the ministry as “a place not bound by geography, but free to move forward for the sake of God's Kingdom.” A year later, Rev. Ransom led the physical relocation to 1529 West McDowell Road in Phoenix where the community could be ministered to even more.