The Executive Mansion has announced Rev. Emmett Lafayette Dunn as the official Orator for Liberia’s 178th Independence Day celebrations, to be held on July 26. A respected Liberian-born pastor and international Baptist leader, Rev. Dunn brings decades of spiritual leadership and a lifelong commitment to community development to this national role.
Born in Monrovia, Rev. Dunn was ordained in 1987 at Providence Baptist Church, one of Liberia’s most historic congregations. He also served there as assistant minister and director of Christian education before departing for the United States in 1988 on a scholarship from the World Council of Churches.
Rev. Dunn holds a Bachelor of Theology from the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary (1986), a Graduate Certificate from the Protestant Episcopal Seminary of Virginia (1989), and a Master of Divinity from Howard University School of Divinity (1991). He has also completed coursework in Sustainable Community Development at Colorado State University.
His career with the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) began in 1994 when he was appointed Director of the Youth Department. He later became Director of Congress and Conferences, overseeing large-scale international gatherings that brought together tens of thousands of Christian leaders and youth from around the world.
In 2014, Rev. Dunn took on the role of Senior Pastor at West Hyattsville Baptist Church in Maryland, where he served until 2021. His work has consistently bridged faith and service, both in Liberia and across the global Christian community.
The selection of Rev. Dunn as Independence Day Orator underscores Liberia’s recognition of its diaspora and the contributions of religious leaders to national unity and moral direction.
