Rev. Dr. David R. Holder

Rev. Dr. David Randolph Holder is a fourth generation pastor, raised in Laurelton Queens, New York. He graduated from Talent Unlimited High School in Manhattan where he majored in voice. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church, spent his early adult years in both the Baptist Church and the Church of God In Christ, ordained in the A.M.E. Church and planted an Evangelical Covenant Church.

Dr. Holder is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. Biological Basis of Behavior 1987), UCLA (M.B.A. Entertainment Management 1991), Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div. 1995), Harvard University (Th.M. 1996), and Princeton Theological Seminary (D.Min. 2005). Dr. Holder served as an associate minister at First A.M.E. Church in Pasadena, CA, St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Cambridge, MA and as the Assistant Pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in Bloomfield, CT. While at Bethel he founded Bethel Day Care Center as the Executive Director of Bethel Center for Humane Services.

As part of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Dr. Holder founded New York Covenant Church (NYCC) in 1998 and has been the Senior Pastor since its inception. Concurrently, Dr. Holder pastored the 100-year old Covenant Church of New Rochelle—that’s pastoring two churches at the same time for six years. In 2004, New York Covenant purchased a 42,000 square foot building on Main Street in downtown New Rochelle as their new location. NYCC has over 20 different ministries. Dr. Holder has been married to his wife Tarshia for 20 years. Tarshia is a Reading Specialist at White Plains Middle School and a graduate of Spelman College and Teachers College, Columbia University. They have two children, Delaney and Jeremiah.

My Writing

My desire for The Praxis of Faith is simple: to help bring the practicality of the Bible to life for your daily walk. The Biblical text can seem quite daunting to many. It is my desire to illuminate the great riches of Scripture and to offer the opportunity for us to live them out.