Reverend Dr. W. Vance Cotten, Sr. was ordained a preacher of the Gospel on August 13, 1978.
He is the Pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of Middletown, Connecticut where he has led for the past nineteen years. Prior to being called as the Pastor, he served as the Assistant Pastor for two and a half years.
In October of 2000, Dr. Cotten received his Doctorate of Divinity degree from Eastern Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree from
Columbia
University in May of 1999.
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Dr. Cotten completed the Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence Program at
Boston
University ,
School of
Theology in
Boston ,
Massachusetts in 2007.
Dr. Cotten is the President of the New England Missionary Baptist Convention and has held that position since 2009. The New England Convention is the oldest Black convention in
America and includes churches from
Maine to the
District of Columbia .
Reverend Cotten is the CEO of the Shiloh Baptist Community Development Corporation, Shiloh Manor Elderly Housing, Inc. and President of W. V. Cotten Ministries.
He is the Dean of the Christian Leadership Bible College of New Haven, Connecticut and 1st Vice President of the Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention. Prior to his election as President of the New England Convention, he served as Moderator of the Zebulun Association of the Connecticut State Convention for ten years.
Most recently, Dr. Cotten was elected as the President and Chairman of the Board of Hartford Behavioral Health. He served as an Executive Director for many years prior to assuming this position.
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He is a board member of the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council, the Middletown Democratic Town Committee and H.O.P.E., Inc. (Home Ownership Providing Empowerment).
Dr. Cotten is a former delegate to the African Summit in
Washington ,
DC , and the Community Renewal Team (CRT) Executive Board. He is a former member of the Middlesex United Way Board of Directors, the Middletown Police Department Leadership Council, the Connection Board of Directors and the Middletown Board of Education.
As Pastor, he is the overseer of over twenty-five active ministries (the majority of which were instituted under his leadership). In addition to the 11 a.m. Sunday morning worship service, Shiloh is home to an 8 a.m. worship service, a 3rd Sunday 7 p.m. evening worship service and a monthly mid-day worship service.
Pastor Cotten is an earnest believer and supporter of the youth. Shiloh has a thriving and growing children’s ministry at both the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday morning worship services. Some of the youth ministries include a youth choir, praise team, several youth praise dance ministries, a weekly youth prayer and bible study group and a monthly youth forum to discuss topics and issues relevant to today’s youth.
The second Sunday of each month is set aside for the children’s ministry to carry out the entire 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. worship services.
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Under his leadership, the church was awarded over six million dollars to build a 41-unit elderly housing complex. The project known as Shiloh Manor was completed in May of 1996 and is completely full. The State of
Connecticut gave the church fourteen acres of prime land worth over one million dollars. Additionally, the church received over $500,000 of in-kind service from Levitz in furniture that was freely given to families in need.
Pastor Cotten is an anointed preacher of the gospel, an accomplished pianist, organist and vocalist.
Pastor Cotten truly believes that, “you have not because you ask not” and that God has chosen him for such a time as this.
Dr. Cotten is married to the former Kim L. Amerson and is the proud father of Vance, Jr., Jonathan and Joshua (