Pastor James A. Norman is a native of Montgomery, AL where he grew up attending the Bethany SDA church. His mother and grandmother were two of the 500 plus souls baptized during the historical evangelistic crusade of 1954 in Montgomery, AL by the late Evangelist, Dr. E.E. Cleveland. 

As a young man, Pastor Norman had a stuttering problem and would shy away from speaking in public. However, God had a plan for his life. He got involved in the Prison Outreach Ministry at his church. The late Charlie Gordon Sr, Prison Ministry Leader asked Norman to do a sermonette for the inmates at the local prison. Pastor Norman was at first reluctant, but his friend Pastor Jeffery Watson encouraged him to speak for the Lord, and God provided a miracle. He did not stutter once as he presented the message with enthusiasm. Consequently, Pastor Norman continued to speak for the Lord whenever asked, and God provided a miracle each time. 

Pastor Norman’s grandmother knew that God wanted to use him as a living miracle to proclaim His word. As a result of her encouragement, Pastor Norman attended Oakwood University to study theology. While at Oakwood, Pastor Norman worked during the summers in evangelistic meetings with the same Evangelist, E.E. Cleveland who had baptized his mother and grandmother some thirty years earlier. In his Junior year, Pastor Norman fell in love with the former Evania Nibbs from the Dutch Caribbean Island of St. Maarten. They both graduated from Oakwood University in 1990. Pastor Norman received a B.A. degree of Theology with a Minor in Psychology and Evania received a B.A. degree of Psychology. The following year, July 1991, Pastor Norman was hired as interim pastor for the Anniston / Gadsden, AL District. and one month later, in August, he married Evania on the island of St. Maarten. 

Both Pastor Norman and his wife went on to continue their studies, and he obtained a Master of Arts in Religion, with emphasis on preaching, from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee and a Master of Divinity in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amridge University in Montgomery, AL. Evania, has a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology and is also a License Professional Counselor in the state of Alabama. Pastor Norman and Evania have been happily married for 28 years on August 18, 2019 and they have been blessed with two young adult children Evonne’ and Jalen.

 

Pastor Norman has been pastoring in the South Central Conference for a number of years, and several churches have been blessed as a result of his ministry. In three of his former districts, Pastor Norman was instrumental in paying off the church mortgages and renovating the buildings to include multimedia technology. At one district he was asked to assist a church who was displaced for over 9 years renting a building for worship on Sabbath mornings. Within two and a half years he spearheaded the completion of a new church building with an activity center that seats over 250 people. In another district, with only 12 members, God blessed during an evangelistic meeting with no bible workers for 43 souls to be baptized, and a total of 87 members were added to the church. At another church Pastor Norman was cited by the governor of AL for outstanding church leadership following an evangelistic meeting that baptized 48 souls. Within four years of using innovative soul wining techniques, over 100 people were added to that particular church.