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Leadership
Rev. Ritney A. Castine,
Pastor & Senior Servant
Advocate. Activist. Leader. These are three words that come to mind when describing the Rev. Ritney A. Castine. Pastor Ritney has led initiatives across the country that educated youth and mobilized communities around the dangers associated with drugs and substance abuse. He’s created several innovative campaigns that has empowered others to be change agents and model citizens.
Pastor Ritney received his first ordination in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in October 2016 and was appointed the pastor of Trinity AME Church in Gonzales, LA in 2017. Under his leadership, he has dramatically increased the visibility and viability of a church once slated for closure. He has held various leadership positions within the 8th. Episcopal District, to include Dean of the Theological Institute for the Louisiana Annual Conference and Director of the Eighth Episcopal District’s Social Action Ministry.
Through intentional ministry, Pastor Ritney led Trinity through transformational change. Under his leadership, the congregation purchased a modern building and five acres of land in one of Louisiana’s fastest growing cities. He later completed a debt-free major renovation of the facilities that positioned the church for 21st century ministry in a post-pandemic world. Pastor Ritney possesses a unique gift of connecting the church to the broader community, and has leveraged relationships to facilitate partnerships and increase the church’s budget through grants, corporate giving, and by cultivating individual donors outside of the church’s membership.
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Pastor Ritney has an infectious personality, possesses the gift of preaching, and has strong administrative skills. Professionally, he is the Principal and Chief Strategist at Imagine Greater, Inc., a consulting firm he created and designed to assist nonprofits and other organizations to become more focused and effective agents of change. He sits on various boards and commissions
and serves as Chair for the State of Black Health National Conference.
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In November 2021, Pastor Ritney was appointed the pastor of Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. Church in Jersey City, NJ, and immediately began the process of reopening the church and undertaking a massive renovation and restoration project. Within the first year of his tenure, he led the church into a debt-free renovation of the church and fellowship hall. The project’s costs were in exess of $215,000. Ritney is a member of the Sigma Chi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc.
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More than everything, Pastor Ritney is a firm believer in the power of God, and he gives God the glory for all he’s been fortunate enough to experience.
His favorite scripture is Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”