Pastor Richard D. McCreary, II, Ph.D. was born in Evergreen, Alabama. He is the son of the late Leodia P. & Richard D. McCreary, Sr. On May 14, 1967 he was licensed to preach by the First Baptist Church of Evergreen, Alabama, Rev. H.J. Hawkins, Pastor. He was ordained March 1, 1970, by the Rockhill Baptist Church of Carbondale, Illinois where he served as interim Pastor until 1971. In 1980 he was called as Senior Pastor of New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, Phoenix, Illinois, after serving diligently for seven years under the leadership of the late Rev. Allen H. Hester.

Over the past forty years, Pastor McCreary has worked steadfastly in teaching and preaching the Word with integrity and ministerial excellence, shepherding the members of New Covenant, ministering to the congregation and countless family and friends as well as teaching and mentoring new preachers in the ministry. During the last six years, Dr. McCreary has diligently studied and passionately taught the truth regarding the history of the Hebrew-Israelite Scriptures as well as the true identity of the Most High God’s ‘Chosen People’. In 2019 he and the New Covenant assembly hosted a conference entitled ‘Reclaiming Our Biblical Heritage’, where Dr. McCreary alongside Ronald Dalton Jr. (author of From Hebrews to Negroes Parts I & II) shed light on the origins of not only the Afro-Israelites in America, but also those dispersed across the four corners of the earth, as well as the prophesied events that led to our fragmentation as a people.

Pastor McCreary was formerly a teacher in the public school systems of Georgia and Alabama. For twenty-four years, he was employed as Professor of Composition at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois, where he was voted Professor of the year in 1984 and later retired in 1996. He was also employed as Adjunct Professor of Preaching at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Pastor McCreary has been the recipient of numerous awards for outstanding community service and leadership. He was the winner of the State of Iowa Award for Composition and the Clapp Memorial Award for Composition. Most recently, he was bestowed with The Carter G. Woodson Award and the Worker Award (for his service as a faithful writer sharing God’s message).

Pastor McCreary has a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida; a Master of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois; a Master of Divinity from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Illinois; and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.

Pastor McCreary is a member of the Greater New Era District Association of Chicago and Vicinity, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Psi, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternities. He was also a staff writer for The Worker (a missionary and educational quarterly publication). He is the founder of the New Covenant Christian Academy (grades Pre-K through 8th), currently serving as the Executive Director, as well as the founder of the New Covenant Theological Institute.