Pastor Aaron L. Dobynes, Sr.

The Rev. Dr. Aaron L. Dobynes, Sr., began his service as Shiloh's tenth pastor on June 1, 2014.

A native of Alabama, Pastor Dobynes is a fourth generation preacher. He attended high school in Selma and earned a B.S. degree in psychology at the University of Alabama. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Virginia Union University School of Theology and his Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He is passionate about black history, womanist theology, and the “Beloved Community.” He has received his Ph.D. in humanities, with a concentration in Martin Luther King, Jr., studies.

As of 2017, Pastor Dobynes had been a senior pastor for thirty-one years. During those years, he has served churches in Virginia, Alabama, and Louisiana. In addition to pastoring, Pastor Dobynes serves on The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region. He is a member of the 2017 class of Leadership Fredericksburg. He is a founding member of Epsilon Rho chapter of Sigma Pi Phi “The Boule,” a member of the Omicron Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, and a 32nd degree Mason of the James O. Bampfield Consistory #56.

Pastor Dobynes has served as an executive vice-president of Selma University, as a continuing education professor at Southern University in Shreveport, as a Doctor of Ministry professor at Virginia University at Lynchburg, and as president of the Shreveport Baptist Ministers Conference. Earlier in his life, Dr. Dobynes served for a time in the United States Army and held the rank of 1st Lieutenant (promotable) in the United States Army Reserves.

Pastor Dobynes is married and has five children. His wife, Ginger Dobynes, is a middle school social studies teacher. Their oldest son, Aaron Jr., and his wife Brittany currently reside in Virginia. Their oldest daughter, Andrea, is a Ph.D. student at the University of Alabama and an English teacher in Marion, Alabama. Austin is a senior at Grambling State University in Louisiana. Alanna is a recent graduate of Miles College in Birmingham. Their youngest, Alexis, is a high school senior who plans to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.