Rev. Raymond E. Banks Sr., D.Min.

Founding Pastor

Rev. Raymond E. Banks Sr., D.Min.

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Dr. Banks is a native of Chicago, Illinois. He began his early childhood there until moving to the State of Maryland. He is the husband of Henri Boyd Banks, father of Raymond E. Banks Jr. (Marketta), grandfather of Raymond E. Banks III, and the son of the late Dorothy Banks-Kennedy and the late Coach Earl C. Banks, historical football coach and athletic director for Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Attending junior and senior high school in the Baltimore City Public School System where he excelled in student affairs and athletics, Dr. Banks was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame for football and the school’s Hall of Fame for personal accomplishments at Baltimore City College of Baltimore, Maryland.

At Maryland State College (now University of Maryland Eastern Shore), Dr. Banks matriculated receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts. He also received a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. While there, he was in the final class of Proctor Fellows, under the tutelage of the late Dr. Samuel D. Proctor.

Dr. Banks has also studied at the Community College of Baltimore (now Baltimore City Community College), Morgan State University, University of Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins University in Columbia, Maryland, and the Community College of Baltimore County in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

While serving as an itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Dr. Banks pastored the following churches:

  • Tyree AME Church, Berlin, Maryland
  • Bethel AME Church, Easton, Maryland
  • Adams Chapel AME Church, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Bethel AME Church, Port Deposit, Maryland

In addition to his ministry, Dr. Banks has had several noteworthy work experiences:

  • Teacher of Engineering Drawing, Baltimore City Public Schools
  • Supervisor, Business Management Division, Baltimore City Public Schools
  • Director, Labor Relations and Legal Affairs, Baltimore City Public Schools
  • Director, Office of the Ombudsman, Baltimore City Public Schools
  • Football Coach, Baltimore City College and Morgan State University 
  • Police Agent, Baltimore City Police Department 
  • IBM Systems Marketing Representative, Baltimore Branch Office

In September of 2013, Dr. Banks retired as a Personnel Officer from the Department of Human Resources in the Office of Personnel for the Baltimore County Public School System. He now serves as founding pastor of Open Door Church Ministries, Inc. in Baltimore County since February of 2017.