Pastor Leon McDaniels, Sr., MA

Pastor Leon McDaniels, Sr., a native of Oakland, California, is a graduate of the Southern Marin Bible Institute and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his Masters in Community Leadership and Masters in Divinity from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, and is currently a candidate in their doctoral program.

He became the Pastor of the Paradise Baptist Church in Oakland, California in 1993 where he has served for the past 18 years. Under his leadership, Paradise has experienced tremendous growth. In 2003, Pastor McDaniels oversaw the multi-million dollar construction for a new Worship Center and in 2010 completed the development of a new Ministry, Recreation, and Business Center. For 18 years, Pastor McDaniels has overseen and nurtured the members of Paradise Baptist Church. The congregation has grown exponentially over the years and is making a major difference in its community.

Pastor McDaniels is a dynamic preacher-teacher who received a teaching credential from Alameda County for Post-secondary and Vocational Education. In addition to teaching several weekly classes at Paradise, Pastor McDaniels is a nationally renowned speaker, preaching and lecturing at churches and conferences around the country. He is especially recognized for his preaching series on stewardship. He participated as the Master of Ceremonies for the WHW Biblical Expository Preaching & Teaching Conference for the past two years and is a member of the traveling team for Nationwide Evangelism Training.

Pastor McDaniels is passionate about alleviating the impact that drugs and alcohol have had on our community and was instrumental in developing Wistar R & R Program, a residential treatment facility for men and women with substance abuse addictions. He has helped to transform the lives of countless men and women and their families through this program. In addition to serving as the full-time Pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, he is also the Executive Director of this program.

He and his wife Jackie have been married for more than 30 years and have four children and five grandchildren. From the time he was called to ministry over 25 years ago, Pastor McDaniels has been tirelessly committed to preaching the gospel, developing Christian leaders and strengthening the community.