Archbishop Allen Wiggins
PRESIDING PRELATE
Archbishop Allen T.D. Wiggins is the Senior Pastor of The Hope Church, of Orlando, Florida. Answering the call of spiritual leadership and community bridge building, Bishop Wiggins has established a reputation for delivering timeless messages of inspiration, salvation, and empowerment.
The Hope Church was founded September 18, 1983, by his parents, Reverend Dr. R.W. and Beulah Wiggins. In October 2001, the late Reverend Dr. R. W. Wiggins officially passed the mantle of leadership to his son, thereby elevating Reverend Allen T. D. Wiggins to the position of Senior Pastor.
Bishop Wiggins’ prized development is Hope Center West, a live, work, play, learn, and worship community. Hope Center West serves as an economic and community development engine with a focus on the needs of the total man. Bishop Wiggins through Hope Center West eliminated a long-standing “food desert” by negotiating and securing a national name brand full-service grocer, Walmart, as a co-anchor on the Hope Center West campus. In the fall of 2013, a strategic alliance was established featuring Frontline Outreach Inc., a youth and family center, which Bishop Wiggins serves as chairman of the board.
Bishop Wiggins is a proponent of reestablishing urban economies and is playing a notable-role in aiding residential and commercial growth in the Greater Washington Shores community. His endeavors have resulted in the creation of safe, affordable housing for hundreds of families while establishing enhanced economic development opportunities, along with the development of a cradle to career educational system. His works have been used as templates for developers from around the country.
Bishop Wiggins received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Florida A & M University and is a graduate of the DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative. He has also been awarded both an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in Apostolic Ministry degree.
Bishop Wiggins is the recipient of many awards including: The Leadership Award for Housing and Economic Development; The Community Service Award; The Drum Major Award for Business; The Cornerstone Award for Personal Empowerment; The African American Trailblazer Award; The Celebration of Life Award; and in 2015, he was designated as an Orlando Sentinel Central Floridian of the Year finalist.
bishop-familyHe was inducted into the General Daniel “Chappie” James Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., and is a two-time Stellar Award winner as part of the inspirational jazz duo, Allen and Allen. Wiggins serves as a member of the board of directors for The First Academy, a private Christian school in Orlando. He is a board member of Lift Orlando, Inc., a group of business leaders partnering with residents to break the cycle of poverty through holistic neighborhood revitalization.
In February of 2007, Wiggins was elevated to the rank of Prelate, by the International Bishops Conference. He is the Coadjutor to the Presiding Prelate Archbishop Leroy Bailey, Jr. of the International Bishop’s Conference, Inc. and served as Vice President of the African American Council of Christian Clergy in Orlando. In 2014, Bishop consented to serve on the Orange County civil rights committee at the pleasure of Mayor Teresa Jacobs. Bishop Wiggins was selected to be the national chair for the Nehemiah Entrepreneurship Urban Initiative in 2015.
Bishop Wiggins and his wife, Lady Deborah Wiggins, are proud parents of five children: Michael, Brandy, Julian, Allen II, and Jonathan.
