The Reverend Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson has served as senior pastor of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ (UCC), Louisville since 2007. Dr. Ferguson leads the church’s vision to plant and cultivate seeds of necessity through spiritual guidance and community partnerships, continuously seeking opportunities to educate, inform and empower the congregation and broader community of west Louisville’s historic and rapidly evolving Russell neighborhood. As senior pastor, Dr. Ferguson serves as mentor and educator to congregational members wanting to receive ordination into the UCC denomination. In her 2016 book, Urban Ministry: Revitalizing a Church and Impacting a Community, Dr. Ferguson outlines her successful seven-week program that helps ease re-entry using Christian principles, intentional nurturing, accountability, and mentoring.
Under Dr. Ferguson’s leadership, the MOLO Village Community Development Corporation (CDC) was established in 2011 to engage Russell neighborhood residents in holistic approaches to community development. MOLO focuses on individuals and families impacted by poverty, incarceration, and recidivism, helping them transform into a community resource. “MOLO” means welcome in Xhosa (a South African dialect), and everyone brings their contributions to the village. This inclusive village consists of five hamlets (programmatic areas): recovery and restoration; health; economic and educational empowerment. In March 2021, the MOLO Village CDC opened a 30,000 square foot mixed use retail and office development in the historic Russell community. The development houses services currently scarce in west Louisville and generate wealth building and job training for residents.
Dr. Ferguson received her bachelor’s degree in business administration & finance from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, in 1976. She graduated from the University of Louisville with a Master of Education in 1992, and from the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary with a Master of Divinity in 2006 and a Doctor of Ministry in 2013. She is an adjunct professor in the seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program. In 2014, Dr. Ferguson was selected as Bingham Fellow from Leadership Louisville and was a participant in the 2014 UPS award-winning Bingham project “One West,” which envisioned an economic renaissance in west Louisville. She was appointed by Governor Andy Beshear to serve on the Kentucky Landbank Board in 2020. She is a recipient of the 2021 United Church of Christ General Synod "Movement Maker Award", the 2021 WLOU "Power to the People Award", the Louisville Central Community Center 2021 "Light the Way Entrepreneurial Excellence Award for Leadership" and recently a 2023 AARP Purpose Prize Winner a one-of-a-kind national award which honors people aged 50-plus who have proven that they are using their knowledge and life experience to make a difference. Dr. Ferguson also serves on numerous community boards and the Indiana Kentucky Conference of the UCC Board of Directors. After 30 years of service, Dr. Ferguson retired from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, in 2019.
Dr. Ferguson is married to minister and deacon Levie Ferguson and sharing in their joy are their two children: Au’yana Lee and Guante;’ a son-in law, Dion Lee; and four grandchildren: Legend, Kennedy, Justice, and Masiah as well as two dogs, Shalom, and Dory.
