Wayne L. Gordon (DMin, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is founding Pastor and current Co-Pastor of Lawndale Community Church. In 1975, Wayne moved to North Lawndale located on Chicago’s westside. At that time, North Lawndale was the 15th poorest neighborhood in the U.S. He was a teacher and coach at Farragut High School, also located in North Lawndale. Wayne and his wife, Anne, have raised their three adult children: Angela, Andrew and Austin. Wayne and Anne, along with some local high school students, founded the Lawndale Community Church. In nearly 50 years of ministry, “Coach,” as he is affectionately known, has played a key role in numerous community development initiatives. He and Lawndale Community Church founded Lawndale Christian Health Center (1984), Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (1987), LCC Hope house (1995), Lou Malnati’s (1995) and Lawndale Christian Legal Center (2010) each of which he chaired the board for the first 10 years. Wayne helped to formulate the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) with John Perkins and served as President for 25 years.