The Progressive National Baptist Convention named Thomas L. Bowen its new general secretary Jan. 22.
Bowen follows Kendrick E. Curry, who served as interim in the role after Timothy Tee Boddie. Tyrone S. Pitts is general secretary emeritus.
The Progressive National Baptist Convention is a historic Baptist denomination founded in 1961 to support the Civil Rights Movement and advance social justice, human rights and theological education.
Bowen most recently served as senior adviser for faith engagement in the White House Office of Public Engagement, where he led national outreach to faith communities and advised on issues at the intersection of faith and public policy in the Biden administration. He previously directed both the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs and the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs in Washington, D.C. He currently serves as interim assistant pastor and Earl L. Harrison Minister of Social Justice at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
He is a graduate of Morehouse College who studied at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He later worked in religious advocacy with Raphael Warnock and Otis Moss III before moving to the Children’s Defense Fund.
“Rev. Bowen brings a rare combination of pastoral heart, administrative excellence and prophetic vision,” said David Peoples, president of PNBC. “At this critical moment in our nation and our church, his leadership will help strengthen our convention and expand our witness for justice and faith in action. We are confident he is called to serve for such a time as this.”
Bowen said he is “deeply humbled” to serve in this new role. “This is not simply an administrative role — it is a sacred calling to help steward the legacy of Dr. King and the freedom church tradition that birthed this convention. We are called to rise with moral clarity in times of confusion, to speak truth with love in times of division and to build bridges where others have built walls. The Black Church must not only echo the gospel — it must embody it.”
“PNBC has always stood where faith meets freedom,” he said. “I intend to carry that torch with conviction, compassion and courage. This is not a moment — it is a movement. And the church must lead with both prophetic courage and pastoral care.”