By Carter Collins
Since his installment as senior pastor of the Historic Little Rock Baptist Church in Detroit on June 9, 1972, Rev. Dr. Jim Holley has built an on-going reputation as one of the top pastors in America. Locally, his passion as a change agent to elevate communities is beyond reproach. The Michigan Chronicle calls him “a minister of empowerment.” Crain’s Business Magazine calls Dr. Holley “one of the foremost voices in Detroit.”
Rev. Holley is now using his powerful voice beyond the pulpit, as host of “The Morning Drive With Rev. Jim Holley,” a new morning drive-time radio program, which airs weekday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., on 910 AM Superstation.
The program, according to Rev. Holley, will address a wide range of topics and issues that will impact underserved people and communities, inclusive of focuses on religion-faith, health care, jobs and community empowerment, education, politics, voters’ education, government (city, state, and national), and business and entrepreneurship.
“The programs are inspirational and informational,” said Rev. Holley. “My goal is to engage in dialogue with the people in the community to address every aspect of their lives. But I want to go beyond the back-and-forth talk, by having guests who are authorities in their respective areas.”
“The Morning Drive With Rev. Jim Holley” debuted May 4th and has already received positive feedback from the growing listenership. On-air guests have included Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She is Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s top health expert on COVID-19. In addition, Dr. Holley has interviewed Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, and other officials.
Rev. Holley promises that he will implement creative programming, such as airing townhall meetings during his program. The townhalls will feature public officials and content experts – locally and nationally – which will disperse valuable information and knowledge that will positively impact listeners’ lives – personally and professionally.
Rev. Holley makes it clear that he didn’t approach 910 AM’s management asking to host a radio program, rather the station contacted him to gage interest.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I believe the station sought me because the station believes that I would be able to bring the community together on many fronts,” Rev. Holley said. “My job as host is to allow listeners to hear both sides of the issues they are facing, especially in this pandemic time of COVID-19. Therefore, it’s vital to have people as guests who can provide the best and truest information for our listeners.”
Presenting relevant information to help the masses is not new to Rev. Holley. In addition to his five-decades as senior pastor of Little Rock, he has used multiple other platforms to reach and impact communities, educational settings, political and government entities, and business and entrepreneurial environments. He has impactfully hosted radio and television programs over the past decade.
Educationally, Rev. Holley is the founder of the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, an inner-city charter school. He also was the driving force behind Cleary University opening a satellite campus in the old Considine Recreation Center on Woodward Ave., in the same block of Little Rock Baptist. Entrepreneurially speaking, Rev. Holley is perhaps the first pastor in Detroit history to have built a multi-million-dollar empire, while creating hundreds of jobs and other opportunities of empowerment for the black community.
Earlier this year, Rev. Holley announced that he will retire as Little Rock’s senior pastor, effective January 1, 2022. When he retires he will have served Little Rock for 50 years. While Dr. Holley hasn’t revealed his life-after-retirement plans, don’t expect him to disappear from his advocacy roles of empowering underserved communities in Detroit and beyond.
For now, however, Rev. Holley feels that “The Morning Drive With Rev. Jim Holley” is the perfect electronic platform to deliver needed messages and information to improve the lives of people, particularly in this era of COVID-19.
“While people are quarantined or spending more time in the house, I feel it’s important that I be the radio host and messenger of truth, hope and information that gives inspiration,” said Rev. Holley. “Everybody does not watch the news on television or may not be on social media, but they have radios or smartphones where they can tune into my program on 910 AM Superstation to stay informed.”
Rev. Holley added.
“It has always been my mission to lead a ‘Ministry of Liberation’, focused on freeing God’s people through Salvation, Education and Economics (SEE),” he said. “My radio program is an important vehicle to reach my mission for the people.”
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