Bishop McKinley Young 

Prior to this assignment as the presiding prelate of the 11th Episcopal District by the 47th Session of the General Conference of the AME Church, Bishop McKinley Young was the presiding prelate of the Tenth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was assigned to the Tenth Episcopal District in 2000 by the 46th Session of the General Conference of the AME Church . This assignment placed Bishop Young over some 300 churches throughout the state of Texas.

From 1996 through 2000, Bishop Young served as the Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Officer for the AME Church, and the Endorsing Agent for all Chaplains in the denomination. In 1992, Bishop Young was elected the 109th Bishop of the AME Church; he was assigned to the 15th Episcopal District, which includes the southern part of the Republic of South Africa, Namibia and Angola. Bishop Young has served as Chairperson for the Commission on Women in Ministry and the Commission on Missions. Prior to being elected to the Episcopacy, he served as the Senior Pastor of the historic Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta. Earlier in his career, Bishop Young pastored churches in Georgia, Rhode Island and Illinois.

Bishop Young is a native of Atlanta, and a product of the Public Schools of Atlanta. He furthered his education by obtaining degrees from Morris Brown College, Atlanta; Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Massachusetts; and the University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago. Bishop Young received the Doctor of Humane Letters (Honorary) from Morris Brown College.

As a pastor and Bishop, he has encouraged the church to underwrite its dreams and support its mission and community commitments without excuses. In South Africa, he led members of the 15th Episcopal District in the Centennial Celebration of the AME Church in Southern Africa. While serving as Secretary of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Young participated in the reception of 12,000 members of the Angola Independent Methodist Church into the AME Church. This formed the Angola Annual Conference of the 15th Episcopal District of the AME Church.

He serves with honor and distinction as a member of the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, the Executive Committee of the Central Committee to the World Council of Churches, a member of the Executive and Nominations Committees for the National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA (NCCC) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Consultation on Church Union (COCU).

Bishop Young is married to Dorothy Jackson Young of Boston, Massachusetts. They are the parents of Mr. Ron and Karyn Young-Lowe; The Reverend Julius and Mrs. Deana Young McAllister; Miss Andrea Leigh Young, Miss Stephanie Lynn Young and grandparents of Little Miss Jennifer Renee Lowe and Master Julius Harrison McAllister, III.