REV. DR. DARAN HERNANDEZ MITCHELL is the senior minister of the First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant village of Brooklyn, New York. He accepted his call to the Christian ministry at age 14 and has been preaching the gospel for close to twenty years. Daran earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Religion/Philosophy-Liberal Studies from Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida; a Master of Divinity degree from Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, North Carolina and recently earned the Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in liturgy and the Black Church from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. He has received training and certification in the Pastoral Care Specialist program at the Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte, North Carolina; the Institute for Church Administration and Management (ICAM) at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), Atlanta, Georgia; and the North Carolina Rural Leadership Development Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina. A gifted preacher, teacher, motivational speaker, and community activist, Daran has served congregations in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. In each pastorate, Daran has sought to raise the consciousness of not only the congregation, but the community by becoming active in the socio-political arena. Since his appointment to the First Church pulpit by Bishop George Edward Battle, Jr. (succeeding Dr. James E. McCoy who was elected a bishop) in October, 2004, Daran has established a ministry to men, completed over $250,000 in capital improvements, and is actively creating partnerships with churches and community leaders in the Borough of Brooklyn. Along with his pastoral ministry, Daran has served as an adjunct professor and is presently Chairman of Conference Studies (ministerial training/preparation for ordained ministry) in the New York Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. In addition to his community and ecumenical affiliations, Daran is a life member of the North Carolina Head Start Association as well as the Phi Alpha Alpha Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. Daran and his wife Lorraine Lynn Kennedy are the proud parents of one son, Caylen