Reel Urban News Exclusive
By Dave Devereaux
Being recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine for a dynamic career in faith is a huge honor, but to achieve that under the age of 40 is quite remarkable. Being featured by Cleveland Magazine as one of its Most Interesting People and being identified as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Greater Cleveland by Kaleidoscope Magazine is unique at such a young age.
Reverend Cory C. Jenkins is just that, a leader on the rise. He has forged an innovative career based on faith, understanding and respect for the black community with a focus on the issues surrounding black males. He cites his spirituality and love of God as his guide to making constructive and decisive moves within the community.
Jenkins is a listener, a trait that few possess or practice these days. He has done this in his adopted community of Cleveland, Ohio. Rev. Jenkins has become a voice to be noticed, serving on the Cuyahoga Community College Board of Trustees and most recently on the Notre Dame College Board of Trustees.
What is impressive is the fact that these accomplishments are usually garnered by older individuals with much longer careers in public or private service. To be recognized at this time in his life speaks volumes to the fact that others are listening to what this young man is saying and observing what he is doing. He is authentic and proves to be a force for good.
Jenkins brings a fresh perspective to ideas for change and moving forward within both college settings. He draws on his own experiences as a young black man of God to usher in innovative discussions about how to include and foster a very different generation of students. He has been invited to serve on these Boards of Trustees; there is no application process. His achievements have won this recognition.
Rev. Jenkins founded several ministries to address what he observed within his own family and the community, citing the norms that the world places on young men who were not receiving the attention sufficient to make changes. He set out to address those norms.
He developed a ministry, Manhood That Matters. He stated that many young men expressed feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. His premise was created from how he observed his own father’s actions and the lessons that he learned from him. “My father was truly a role model for manhood, “ he said. “True manhood comes from within, and we must know who we are. Age does not matter. We can set examples of what manhood truly looks like.”
Jenkins then co-founded Team Jenkins Ministries in 2012. This ministry was established apart from the church congregation to reach the broader Cleveland community. Reverend Jenkins states, “Ministry is liberation from mental and physical bondage and that God is liberating me. We all have a ministry to share.” He feels that he is allowed to preach to the masses and that God called him to minister to the people. He’s fulfilling that calling.
When we asked Rev. Jenkins what has been his greatest accomplishment thus far, he said, “One of my greatest privileges has been to be a father to my son, modeling for him based on my dad, the good and the imperfections. There is so much I want to show him. I want to have that kind of impact.”
Jenkins recognizes the importance of serving on these boards and how it would have been a source of pride to his late father. He recalled being contacted by the assistant to the President of Cuyahoga Community College in 2016 and invited to lunch where he was then asked to serve on that board. “I fought back tears and felt great pride thinking of my Dad at that moment.”
He shared that his father had a strong value for higher education. His final thoughts summed up the interview beautifully when he stated that “the last six years demonstrate that God guides my ministry beyond the church.”
Reverend Cory Jenkins is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Morehouse College with Phi Beta Kappa distinction. He followed that with a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary with a concentration in Practical Theology.
In 2009, he relocated to Cleveland, Ohio where he joined the congregation of the historic Shiloh Baptist Church as the Senior Pastor, thus beginning his rise toward making change within that community. At the early age of 40, he cemented his presence in Cleveland by making several significant moves toward addressing issues within the community in a much broader sense.
Reverend Jenkins is currently an Associate Partner with Security Equity Group, a private equity firm that specializes in the acquisition and growth of small-to-medium-sized businesses in the health care, software and construction sectors. He has served as a contributing writer for the National Baptist Voice, the official publication of the National Baptist Convention USA. In 2018 Rev. Jenkins was inducted into the College of Pastoral Leadership at his alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rev. Jenkins is a name that will be included in many future conversations, not just in Cleveland but the whole country as his intentions and authenticity will spread and grow as a voice of reason and respect. We often wonder where our next moral leaders will come from. Let this be an introduction to one very promising young leader on the rise.
Special Appreciation: Cuyahoga Community College and Notre Dame College
Devereaux is a national editor and opinion writer at ReelUrbanNews.com.
Primary category:? Auto select a category All Posts – [ id: 1 ] Business – [ id: 18 ] Education – [ id: 17 ] Featured Articles – [ id: 3 ] Media & Arts – [ id: 21 ] Reel Legal Beat – [ id: 20 ] ReelProfiles – [ id: 24 ] Videos – [ id: 5660 ] If the posts has multiple categories, the one selected here will be used for settings and it appears in the category labels.Sidebar position:?
Custom sidebar:?Default SidebarSubtitle:This text will appear under the titleQuote on blocks:Show a quote (only when this article shows up in blocks that support quote and only on blocks that are on one column)Source name:This name will appear at the end of the article in the “source” spot on single postsSource url:Full url to the sourceVia name:Via (your source) name, this will appear at the end of the article in the “via” spotVia url:Full url for viaCustom Label:Custom Category Label name, this will appear on flex modules/blocks like a category tagCustom Label url:Full url for Custom Label
Featured Video
Toggle panel: Featured Video
Featured Audio
Toggle panel: Featured AudioPaste an audio link from SoundCloud it will be embedded in the post and the thumb used as the featured image of this post.
You need to choose Audio Format from above to use Featured Audio.
- Post
- Block
Status & visibility
VisibilityPublicPublishImmediatelyPost FormatAudioStandardVideoStick to the top of the blog
Reverend Jenkins is currently an Associate Partner with Security Equity Group, a private equity firm that specializes in the acquisition and growth of small-to-medium-sized businesses in the health care, software and construction sectors. He has served as a contributing writer for the National Baptist Voice, the official publication of the National Baptist Convention USA. In 2018 Rev. Jenkins was inducted into the College of Pastoral Leadership at his alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rev. Jenkins is a name that will be included in many future conversations, not just in Cleveland but the whole country as his intentions and authenticity will spread and grow as a voice of reason and respect. We often wonder where our next moral leaders will come from. Let this be an introduction to one very promising young leader on the rise.
