J. Derrick Cattenhead

The Reverend Dr. J. Derrick Cattenhead is a pastor, educator, and author. In ministry since 2002, he has served several churches in the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church since 2012. An ordained elder, he pastors North Orangeburg United Methodist Church. He served six years as the first African American pastor appointed to Central United Methodist Church in Florence, South Carolina, in its 150-year history. In 2025, he received the Orangeburg Area NAACP Presidential Citation Clergy of the Year Award.

Dr. Cattenhead earned his BS from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, his MDiv from Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and his DMin in Community Witness and Church Leadership from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. A former adjunct business professor at Virginia College, he is a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and author of the memoir Searching for the Soul Within Me: The Kitchen Table, the Front Porch, and the Big Tree. His ministry fosters spiritual growth and uses a collective impact approach to bring church leaders and community stakeholders together to identify pressing local issues, pool resources, and coordinate responses shaped by residents’ priorities.