Presiding Elders' Council
A.M.E. Zion Church
Rev. Dr. Joel D. Miles
Senior Advisor to the International President
Chicago District
A native of Knoxville, Tennessee,
the Rev. Dr. Joel D. Miles was educated
in Knoxville’s public schools. He
attended Morristown Junior College, the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville,
and pursued a degree at DePaul
University. He also matriculated at
Chicago Theological Seminary. Raised in
the Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion
Church, Knoxville’s oldest African
American Church, established in 1845, he
was a choir member, usher, Sunday School
teacher and Assistant Sunday School
Superintendent. He first preached his
trial sermon at the age of nine in 1965.
He preached his trial sermon again in
1976. From 1976 to 1992, under the
leadership of the late Bishop Clinton R.
Coleman, Rev. Miles pastored the
following churches in the Tennessee
Conference: Craig Chapel, Greenback, TN;
Stanford Chapel, Lafollette, TN;
Edgewood Chapel, Knoxville; Saint Paul,
Maryville, TN; and Clinton Chapel,
Knoxville.
In 1993, the late Bishop Enoch B.
Rochester transferred Rev. Miles to the
Michigan Conference and appointed him
the pastor of the Lomax Temple A.M.E.
Zion Church, Detroit, MI. Under his
leadership, the Lomax Temple Church made
major improvements to it facilities,
purchased a new parsonage, and paid off
the mortgage.
In 2004, the late Bishop Milton A.
Williams, appointed Rev. Miles the
pastor of the historic Greater Walters
A.M.E. Zion Church, Chicago, IL, the
lead church of the Chicago District.
Since arriving at Greater Walters, four
persons have entered the ministry; and
he has led the congregation in paying
off early a $450,000.00 mortgage. Many
improvements have been made to the
facilities, including a new and improved
pastor’s study and secretary's office.
In 2013, Bishop Darryl B. Starnes,
Sr. appointed Rev. Dr. Miles the
Presiding Elder of the Chicago District,
where he is providing stellar leadership
for the seventeen churches of the
district. Dr. Miles is a Life Member of
the Connectional Lay Council; a Life
Patron of the Women's Home and Overseas
Missionary Society; and a contributing
writer for the "Star of Zion," the
official newspaper of the AME Zion
Church. Rev. Miles is in his fourth
quadrennium as a member of the
Connectional Budget Board of the AME
Zion Church. He is a Regional Vice
President (Mid-West Episcopal District)
of the International Ministers and
Layman's Association of the AME Zion
Church. He is an active member of
the Presiding Elders’ Council of AME
Zion Church. He is also a Life Member of
the NAACP.
Rev. Dr. Joel D. Miles is married to the Rev. Ruby Miles, an ordained Elder in the AME Zion Church and the Assistant Prayer Coordinator for the Chicago District. They are the proud parents of two children and eight grandchildren.
Rev. Dr. Joel D. Miles is married to the Rev. Ruby Miles, an ordained Elder in the AME Zion Church and the Assistant Prayer Coordinator for the Chicago District. They are the proud parents of two children and eight grandchildren.
