Community & Faith Engagement Officer

Rev. Alvin Bibbs, Sr.

In 1967, the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed Rev. Bibbs out of a huge crowd during a service at Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church which is positioned right in the heart of the former Cabrini-Green Housing Projects of Chicago. During his message Dr. King asked him to come forward to make an illustration in his sermon. At that very moment – Dr. King was challenging the audience to take responsibility for the promising future of the next generation and to bring pride back to their community. That moment left a lasting impression on Alvin’s life – especially after Dr. King shared a prayer of blessing over his life at the end of the church service alongside of his parents and four siblings.

Rev. Alvin C. Bibbs, Sr. is a highly sought-after motivational speaker, author (Crazy Enough to Care: Changing Your World Through Compassion, Justice, & Racial Reconciliation, InterVarsity Press) and serves as an organizational coach/facilitator to congregations, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations across North America. Along with currently serving as President & CEO of the Justice Journey Alliance™, Leadership Foundation of Chicago.

The Justice Journey Alliance™ vision is to reach an ever-increasing population divided by race and injustice. Rev. Bibbs also serves as the Community & Faith Engagement Officer for Together Chicago providing leadership to enlist local churches in Chicago to organize Gospel Justice Centers throughout the city. Most recently on September 25, 2020, Rev. Bibbs co-founded a national initiative called Beyond Words: Count Us In Movement which is a multi-city ecumenical movement in which faith leaders and pastors are taking direct action to address structural injustice and systemic racism. Rev. Bibbs is the Co-Founder and Visionary Leader of Beyond Words: Count Us In. Last of all, Rev. Bibbs is also the Founder & Lead Visionary for the THR!VE Pastors Cohort in Chicago. The mission of the THRI!VE Pastors Cohort is to position pastors in Chicago for amplified and holistic engagement by providing cutting-edge and practical resources to enable healthy and sustainable local churches.

Prior to the Justice Journey Alliance™, Rev. Bibbs served as the Multi-Cultural Regional Director for the Willow Creek Association in South Barrington, IL.

He joined Willow Creek Community Church in 1996 as the Executive Director of Extension Ministries (the Compassion & Justice Missions Outreach for the church).

In September of 2020, Rev. Bibbs was featured in two major national television broadcasts. Rev. Bibbs was featured in the newly released 200th Anniversary of Federal Courts in Illinois documentary entitled: A Court at the Heart of America. In June of 2020, Rev. Bibbs served as the Executive Producer, Editor, and Writer on a ‘Special Edition’ program entitled: We Can’t Breathe: Crisis in America powered by the Total Living Network. A JustUS Conversation roundtable on the growing national protests against racism with three highly sought-after Christian leaders from different racial, and vocational backgrounds.

Additionally, Rev. Bibbs was a contributing panelist on the Total Living Network – Significant INSIGHTS with Jerry Rose entitled: Racism: Then & Now. A three-part roundtable series analyzing the state of race relations in North America.

In the Christianity Today’s 1996 November issue, Rev. Bibbs was featured as one of the Top Fifty “Up and Coming” Evangelical Leaders in the country under forty years of age. In January of 2010 – Rev. Bibbs was featured in a TIME Magazine article entitled ‘Can Mega-Churches – Bridge the Racial Divide.’

Rev. Bibbs also served as the primary Chaplain to the World-Famous Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball Team for seven amazing seasons.

As a final point, Rev. Bibbs is also a well-known contributing cast member of the now
famous Hoop Dreams (1994) an award-winning documentary and remarkable true story of two American dreamers; an intimate reflection of contemporary American inner-city culture, following two ordinary young men on the courts of the game they love.

Rev. Bibbs holds a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Leadership Development & Organizational Management from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Rev. Bibbs has three amazing, gifted, and spiritually surrendered sons Alvin C. Bibbs, Jr., Brandon Q. Bibbs, & Devin L. Bibbs.