Bishop LaVaughn Hughes, Sr.

Senior Pastor

Bishop LaVaughn Hughes, Sr. is a native of Crestview, Florida.  On April 19, 1980, he received Christ as his Lord and Saviour and was filled with the Holy Spirit at the age of sixteen.  As a result of him falling in love with Jesus, he led scores of young people to give their lives to Jesus as well.

In June 1983, he relocated to the Maryland area and united with Faith Temple No.2, Original Free Will Baptist (OFWB) Church, under the leadership of the late Bishop L.  N. Forbes where he was personally trained by Bishop Forbes to become a great leader for the Kingdom of God.

He served Faith Temple in many capacities which included but are not limited to: YPCL President, Bible Church School teacher, Bible Study instructor as well as being ordained a Deacon in 1988 where he served faithfully for five years.

In April 1993, he preached his initial sermon entitled “Due Season.”

In 2000, he was chosen, commissioned and sent out by Bishop Forbes to pastor the Tabernacle of Praise OFWB Church, in Waldorf, Maryland where he served faithfully for nine years.  This would serve as the training ground for more of the great things that God had in store for him.

In 2007, he was one of three individuals selected to travel to Liberia, West Africa, to receive and train pastors under the OFWB Conference umbrella. Twenty African churches were established, and the ministries are continually growing to this date. Currently, we have more than 30 African churches and three schools under our umbrella – one of which is named in honor of Bishop Hughes. One of these churches was recognized during the Ebola epidemic, on September 15, 2014, by The Washington Post.”   The newspaper stated that the humble Christ Deliverance Chapel of the Original Free Will Baptist Mission Church of Liberia, served as a source of final outpost-of-hope for some of the poorest people in one of the poorest countries in the world.

In 2009, Bishop Hughes was chosen, appointed, and inaugurated by Bishop Forbes to serve as his successor upon his local retirement as Pastor of Faith Temple No.2 Church after 47 years of faithful and dedicated service as Founder and Pastor.

In 2012, he was honored by Washington, DC metropolitan radio station (WPRS-FM), Radio ONE, Inc., in a community-wide Prayer Breakfast for outstanding programs and services beneficial in strengthening the community.

Bishop Hughes was continuously elevated within the OFWB Organization where he served in various capacities to include, but not limited to, Northern District Union Vice President as well as President, which held the oversight of all the Northern Churches in the Organization.  He also served on the OFWB Ordination Council.  

In 2013, Bishop LaVaughn Hughes, Sr. was personally chosen, confirmed and installed by Bishop L.N. Forbes to succeed him as the Presiding Prelate of the Middle Eastern District, Original Free Will Baptist Annual Conference of America, Inc., where he previously served four years as the Executive Bishop and three years as First Vice Bishop.

He also currently serves as the 2nd Vice Bishop of the Original Free Will Baptist General Conference of America, which oversees four conference bodies, under the leadership of General Bishop, James E. Tripp.  For the General Conference, he served on the Book of Discipline Committee.  He was tasked to review and revise the current book of Discipline which was last published in 2015.

Additionally, Bishop Hughes worked in the private sector for more than 20 years (before going into full-time ministry in 2004) as a CAD Engineer for two of the top Defense Contractors in the country: Lockheed Martin and CACI Incorporated.  In working for these Contractors, he designed Nuclear Attack Submarines, Surface Warfare Ships as well as Communication Systems for the U.S. Navy.

Bishop Hughes has two conferred Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees from Eastern Theological Seminary, in Lynchburg, Va., and Breakthrough Bible College (Partners of Oral Roberts University).

Bishop Hughes and his lovely wife, Felecia, are the proud parents of three wonderful children: LaVaughn Jr., Alecia, Crystal, and a loving daughter-in-law Tiya Askia Hughes as well as a beloved grandchild Ava Hughes.

Bishop Hughes has an innate ability to incorporate visual demonstrations into his gospel messages that bring simplicity and clarity to the word as well as bring the Word to life.  An anointed and gifted man of great integrity, humility and compassion, most excellently describes Bishop LaVaughn Hughes, Sr., and his gospel ministry.

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