Dr. Brian LaMont Monford, Sr. was born in Lima, Ohio, where he accepted Christ at an early age to make sense of a chaotic childhood marked by drugs and family separation. But it was the brutal murder of his mother that became the defining moment of his faith. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Dr. Monford discovered what it truly means to follow Christ through troubled times — and at just seventeen years old, answered the call to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He holds a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, OH.

In 1991, at the age of 24, he became the pastor of Philippian Missionary Baptist Church in Lima, Ohio, where he has served faithfully for 35 years. He is the author of From Valleys to Victories, co-founder of the Mary Alice House — a sober living environment for men and women recovering from addiction — and an inductee of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.

His forthcoming book, Rejection in Familiar Places, was born from decades of ministry and personal hardship. It is the resource he needed when he was in the middle of his own storm — and couldn't find.

Dr. Monford is the husband of Teresa A. Monford. They have four children and one grandchild.