ABOUT THE PASTOR

David J. Childs, Ph.D., D.D., MA, M.A.T.

Rev. Dr. David Childs is the son of the late Elder Hezekiah Childs , Sr, pastor and founder of Refreshing Spring Church of God in Christ. He has been in the ministry for over 17 years. A fourth-generation preacher, he was ordained both as a Baptist minister and in the Church of God in Christ under the late, great Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson. Rev. Dr. Childs has been serving as the Pastor of the historic First Antioch Baptist Church since 2014. The church is located in Cincinnati, Ohio in East Walnut Hills. First Antioch was the church where Temple Bible College and Seminary held its first classes and graduation. He is the former Pastor of House of Refuge Baptist Church in Cincinnati. He was also Assistant Pastor at Refreshing Spring Church of God in Christ in Hamilton, Ohio for 10 years, the church his father (The late Superintendent Hezekiah Childs) founded. He has preached widely throughout the US at churches of various denominations including Presbyterian, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and various Holiness churches. Dr. Childs is a member of the Cincinnati Baptist Ministers Conference. He hosts a weekly Christian radio program on a variety of stations, in several states, where he preaches the bible unashamedly.     

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He is a professor of Social Studies Education and History at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). He was the first African American to receive tenure in the Department of Education at NKU. Pastor Childs has taught courses in history, Black studies, racism and ethnicity, biblical history, theology, philosophy, research and education. He earned a Masters degree in Social Studies Education and a second Masters in American History at Miami University of Ohio. He also earned his Doctorate of Philosophy at Miami with an emphasis on Black Theology, Church history, educational leadership, and American history. Pastor Childs also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Temple Bible College and Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Pastor Childs is an international scholar and has presented work and conducted research in places such as Washington D.C., Mexico City, San Francisco, California,  Vancouver, Canada, Oxfordshire, England and Paris, France. In spring 2015 he took a group of students to France to research and study European history at various historical sites. He has published extensively in academic journals, encyclopedias and university textbooks. He wrote his first historical fiction novel entitled "Escaping from Home: A Novel about Slavery and Freedom" in 2021. Most of all he loves to pray, worship and study God's word. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for African American Studies.

He is a member of many learned societies. He sits on the board of directors of the National Association for African American Studies. He is also a member of the advisory board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and a board member of the Newport History Museum. He is a member of the Ohio and Kentucky Historical Societies, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He is currently working on history and social studies projects with the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Advanced Placement College Board and Cincinnati Public Schools.

Dr. Childs is married to the love of his life Alundra Childs, a Spanish Teacher and classically trained musician at Cincinnati Public Schools.  They have five children: Symone, David, Hannah, Gabriella and Madison.