Lee University’s Division of Adult Learning awarded Jerry Madden the Department Alumnus of the Year Award during Homecoming celebrations.
“Pastor Jerry Madden embodies the qualities of a lifelong adult learner,” said Catherine Yaun, director of online academic support for DAL. “His education was about more than a degree for him; he already had one of those. Rather, it was about the give-and-take of knowledge that his vast ministry career engaged and inspired. It was about an institution he believed in, invested in, and fully supported throughout his time as pastor.”
Mr. Madden and his wife, Jan, currently serve as senior pastors at Praise Cathedral Church of God in Greer, South Carolina. Along with his role as pastor, he has served on a number of international and state committees and councils with the Church of God, and currently serves on the International Council of Eighteen, the Lee University board of directors, and the state council for the Church of God in South Carolina.
Mr. Madden grew up in a pastor’s home and has been involved in and connected with ministry all of his life. After receiving his degree in computer programming, he began a successful business career, became a featured speaker at trade shows and business conferences, and testified before a United States Senate panel on communication and computer issues.
In 1994, he accepted the position of part-time children’s pastor at Praise Cathedral, having previously served in part-time ministry positions at other churches. In August of that year he left his successful career to enter full-time ministry at Praise where he has served in various capacities including children’s pastor, interim youth pastor, associate pastor, and now as senior pastor, a position he has held since Jan. 1, 2002.
In 2016, Mr. Madden returned to the online classroom to complete a Bachelor of Science in Ministry Leadership from Lee University.