[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                HONORING REVEREND DR. GREGORY A. SUTTON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2023

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an 
outstanding mentor, dedicated servant leader, faithful servant of God 
and dear friend of longstanding, the Reverend Dr. Gregory A. Sutton. 
Dr. Sutton was honored for his 53 years of faithful service at Jackson 
Memorial Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, July 16, 2023, 
at 10:30 am.
  Dr. Sutton was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised among great 
educators, philosophers, and theologians. Dr. Sutton was always 
concerned about the welfare of others and used his voice to speak out 
on pressing issues of the day. He began to preach the Gospel at the 
young age of 16. This would lay the foundation for his ministry and his 
destiny--the boy, the preacher, the man and the visionary.
  Dr. Sutton began preaching the Gospel while he was still in high 
school and accepted the calling to pastor a growing church called 
Jackson Memorial at the age of 18, where he has labored for 53 years. 
Through his leadership, the church has continued to expand its 
membership and physical footprint. Dr. Sutton has seen the expansion of 
the church's membership to over 6,000 members and he has overseen the 
construction of two new edifices for the church. Dr. Sutton's ministry 
is indeed a global ministry and reaches people where they are across 
the world.
  The scripture tells us in Proverbs that ``Where there is no vision 
the people perish . . . .'' Dr. Sutton is indeed a visionary and has 
used his ministry to reach people beyond the church walls. He has 
dedicated himself to the awareness, protection, and spiritual 
development of youth. Dr. Sutton was the originator of the phrase, 
``Stop the Violence, Save the Youth.'' Cementing his commitment to 
young people and their spiritual futures, Pastor Sutton was the first 
pastor in the Atlanta area to open his church to students for prayer 
before school. He also reaches out and incorporates the needs of his 
elderly parishioners in his ministry. Dr. Sutton has a complete 
ministry that attempts to reach many different groups for Christ to 
include those that are in prison, the homebound, the homeless, the low 
income and the disenfranchised. He uses his weekly television 
broadcast, ``Now Is The Time,'' to reach those who would not otherwise 
be reachable.
  Dr. George Washington Carver once said that ``How far you go in life 
depends on your being tender with the young; compassionate with the 
aged; sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the 
strong, because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' 
Dr. Sutton is acutely aware that for the Kingdom of God to be 
manifested in this world, it is imperative that people from all walks 
of life be brought into the fold and be made to feel that they matter 
and that Jesus Loves them. Dr. Sutton's ministry is truly a Matthew 25 
ministry.
  Even amid his various ministerial duties, Dr. Sutton finds time to 
serve his community at large. It has been said that ``Service is the 
rent that we pay for the space that we occupy here on this earth.'' Dr. 
Sutton has paid his rent and he has paid it well. He serves on the 
board of directors of many social and civic organizations to include 
the Board of Ministers of Morehouse College.
  Reverend Dr. Gregory Sutton has achieved much in life, but none of it 
would have been possible without the grace of God and the love and 
support of his wife, First Lady Gail Sutton; his children, Theresa, 
Tony, Keisha and LaQuay; his three grandchildren and other family 
members.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the people of Georgia and this 
nation in honoring and commending the Reverend Dr. Gregory A. Sutton 
for 53 years of dedicated service to his God, Jackson Memorial Baptist 
Church and humankind. Moreover, we pray God's continued blessings upon 
him, his ministry, and his family in the weeks, months, and years 
ahead.

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