Rodney D. Waller, the tenth Pastor of First African Baptist Church, the third oldest African American Church in the United States, was born in Kilmarnock, Virginia. He holds certificates in Religious Studies and Proclamation Preparation from the Evans-Smith Leadership Training Institute. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion from Virginia Union University and Master’s of Divinity degree from Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Richmond Virginia. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Virginia University and where he also was an adjunct professor in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Prior to his pastorate at The First African Baptist Church, he was the Senior Pastor of Sharon Baptist Church, Weems, Virginia. He was a community activist in pastoral care and education, serving as a volunteer chaplain at the Rappahannock General Hospital in Kilmarnock, Virginia, and has served as a member of the Lancaster County Special Education Department board of directors and the Lancaster County Planning Commission. Dr. Waller is a past president of the Northern Neck Ministers Conference and past president of the Jesse Ball DuPont Foundation Church Resource Service, and he was one of the featured preachers at the Baptist General Convention of Virginia annual session.
Presently he is a member of the Executive Board of Hampton Ministers' Conference and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
He is married to the former Aline T. Coleman. Dr. Waller and Mrs. Waller are the proud parents of five children: Brooks, Allesia, Allashia, Adrian and Darrell.