Profiles

The Rev. Andrew Wilkes, PhD, is an ordained minister whose calling is rooted in the joy-bringing, justice-rooted ministry of Jesus Christ. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Wilkes received his call to a preaching ministry at the age of 15 while serving in the auxiliary ministries of Zion Hill Baptist Church. He was licensed to preach the gospel as a student at Hampton University, where, as a pre-college student, he had co-organized a campus-wide Bible study. At age 26, Wilkes was ordained to Christian ministry in the National Baptist Convention at Zion Hill Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Aaron Parker. Wilkes is a proud graduate of Hampton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he received the Elder Garnett Hawkins Prize for academic excellence. He also has a doctorate in political science from The City University of New York Graduate Center.  

Wilkes is the co-lead pastor of The Double Love Experience Church in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to Double Love, he served on the pastoral staff of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York under the leadership of Revs. Dr. Floyd and Elaine Flake. In that capacity, he founded and led the Micah 6:8 social justice and advocacy ministry and was appointed copastor to young adults. In 2022, Wilkes was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. His work and voice have appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Sojourners, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CBS News, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates’s PBS documentary Gospel. 

Wilkes served as the executive director of the Drum Major Institute, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and currently serves as co-chair of the board of the Institute for Christian Socialism. He is the author of Freedom Notes: Reflections on Faith, Justice, and the Possibility of Democracy, co-author of Psalms for Black Lives, and the author of Plenty Good Room: Co-Creating an Economy of Enough for All. He is the proud husband of Rev. Dr. Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes.