The grace of God should make us gracious toward others! -damian l boyd
Damian is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, passionate communicator, visionary leader, and pastor. For more than fifteen years, he has reached and developed youth, young adults, and singles locally and nationally through conferences, high impact events, leadership gatherings, and everyday ministry. He has spoken at hundreds of church services, events, conferences, Bible studies, trainings, and meetings since 1995. His life mission is to lead, train, and develop people with the principles, tools, and resources to live significant lives for the Glory of God.
Damian committed his life to Christ at the age of 16 after a personal encounter with Jesus. Even with a turbulent childhood of poverty, homelessness, and an absentee father, he realized his amazing potential in Christ and allowed his challenging experiences to be testament to God’s love, power, and redemption. He became a revolutionary for Christ and challenged those around him to life passionately for the Lord. His life scripture continues to be the theme of his life and ministry. “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…” (Matthew 5:13-15).
After graduating from a New Jersey high school in 1995, Damian moved to Atlanta with a core group to plant a new church in Atlanta. While a member there, he faithfully served in ministry as a dedicated core member, willingly using his gifts and abilities. He also saw his community as ministry. Even while attending college, he was on a mission to win his campus to Jesus. And as a result, he led a spiritual renewal on the campus of Clark Atlanta University.
He served as college students and young adults for 12 years as a College Pastor. He developed several creative environments for young adults, to include Destinations, a popular spoken word and hip hop event in Atlanta. Destinations addressed relevant cultural topics such as child sex trafficking, politics, and addictions and challenge its viewers to consider God’s perspective.
In addition to his ministry service in the local church, he also has worked strategically with parachurch organizations and ministries such as iLEAD, Inc., Ivy Jungle, and Passion Conferences. He loves investing in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. In 2010, Damian published his first book, College Impact. The goal of the book is for collegiate Christians to awaken to the full life in Christ and touch the lives of others for the Glory of God. The philosophy is to move our students from "prevent defense" to offense, for we carry the treasure of creation on the inside of us.
In 2011, Damian and his family started a new portion of their journey by launching Vertical Church, www.verticalATL.com, a family of Jesus followers “on mission” in the urban, college community of Historic West End/Vine City of Atlanta Georgia. Damian serves as the Lead Pastor. With a mission to grow followers of Jesus Christ and equip them for their life mission, this Bible-based church seeks to have an indispensable presence and voice in both the campus and community. Damian and Zarat celebrate over 20 years of marriage and over seven years of raising their son, Damian Jr., a gifted, musical child with complex medical needs. He loves his family deeply.