Serving the Marginalized at Lawndale

Rev. James L. Brooks is committed to listening and responding to the people who have been hurt and marginalized by society. He serves as the Senior Pastor of Harmony Community Church and the Vice President of Mission & Community Engagement at Lawndale Christian Health Center on the Westside of Chicago. He formerly served as the Coordinator of Youth Ministry at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, IL, and was the first African American to be called to serve this historic Lutheran congregation.

Reverend Brooks is a summa cum laude graduate of Concordia University where he majored in organizational management. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Northern Theological Seminary, where he was the first Dr. John Perkins Scholar graduate. Reverend Brooks also completed his youth and theology certification at Princeton Theological Seminary and a clinical pastoral education unit at the University of Illinois Medical Center. To add to his wide array of empowering strategies and techniques, he became a John Maxwell Certified Coach in 2014.

Reverend Brooks is currently a doctoral student at Northern Theological Seminary. He is happily married to his beautiful wife, Jacqueline, a Registered Nurse specializing in transplant care. They have two brilliant and energetic daughters, Jaylah and Janay, both of whom actively serve in vital ministries of the church.