Freedom Church Baltimore calls Jeremy Dickson as senior pastor
By Sharon Mager
BALTIMORE, Md. — Freedom Church in Baltimore, Maryland, installed Jeremy Dickson as the senior pastor on December 1. He succeeds Michael Crawford, who founded the church in 2009. Freedom Church first met at a YMCA on 33rd street in Baltimore with 50 adults and 12 kids and has grown over the years to include a diverse congregation which now meets in Rosedale and has expanded to include another campus in the Baltimore region. Following God’s leading, Crawford, who also serves as the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) state director of missions, stepped down from his role as senior pastor and now serves as an elder.
Dickson joined the staff at Freedom in November 2015. “The leadership at the church plant where I was previously serving as a campus pastor (Infinity Church) decided to merge back with the parent church, and Freedom ‘just happened’ to be searching for a Campus Pastor at that time,” he says.
Born and raised in Prince George’s County, Dickson graduated from Largo High School and pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Systems. He received his Master of Science in Management Informational Systems at Bowie State University, then, in 2018, he completed his Master of Divinity in pastoral studies at Capital Bible Seminary in Lanham, Maryland.
In 2012, God called Dickson from his position as a business analyst at T. Rowe Price to pursue full-time ministry as the campus pastor of Infinity Church, where he previously served as a youth pastor, deacon, and missions director.
He has also served on the Prince George’s Baptist Association youth council, and as a moderator for the Baltimore Baptist Association (BBA). He currently serves as BBA treasurer.
Asked about Freedom’s strengths, Dickson pointed to the core leadership. “We have an amazing core of ministry leaders and lay members who are committed to carrying out the vision,” he said. Additionally, Dickson said the church’s strength lies in its commitment to the mission to make disciples, as well as its relationship to the BCM/D, the BBA, and the community.
Looking ahead, Dickson has cast a three-year vision for the church to grow, multiply, and send disciples out to plant again. “After planting Freedom Church Windsor Mill (on Dogwood Road in Baltimore, Maryland) in August 2018, we are definitely excited to plant again in the future. Our experience with the planting process helped us realize there needs to be some recalibration after investing so many resources and so much effort into a church plant. Therefore, we would like to see our church grow to the point of health (both spiritually and numerically) that would strategically position us to plant again–hence the three-year vision of ‘Grow, Multiply, Send’.”
Dickson is married to Dr. Christina Dickson, a pharmacist for the Veterans Administration in Baltimore. They have four children — Brandon, Jasmine, Jayden, and Jaylen. Jeremy and Christina are native Marylanders and currently live in Columbia, Maryland. They plan to move to Baltimore after the school year to be closer to the church.
Asked about hobbies, Jeremy replied, “Believe it or not, I love all things water…and, therefore, my absolute favorite activity is swimming. Christina and the children love obstacle courses and zip-lining. For our family as a whole, we love visiting different amusement parks, beaches, and scenic parks.”
Michael Crawford has complete confidence in Jeremy Dickson and said he felt God leading him to step away from the senior pastorate and let leadership take the church to another level. “They will take the church to places I can’t take it,” he said. Additionally, Crawford will spend more time overseeing the Subversive Institute, a non-profit organization designed to equip the citizens of Baltimore to change their city.
(Photo provided. L-R, Christina, Jayden, Jeremy, Brandon, Jaylen, and Jasmine)
