Our Pastors & Staff

The Reverend Dr. Charles A. Coverdale is the former Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Riverhead and the church's longest-serving pastor. During his remarkable 43-year pastorate, he led the congregation through decades of growth, ministry, community engagement, and service. He retired in December 2025 after more than 50 years as an ordained clergyman.

Prior to coming to First Baptist, Rev. Dr. Coverdale served as pastor of the historic Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island.

A Teacher & Leader

Rev. Dr. Coverdale has spent much of his life at the intersection of ministry, education, and organizational leadership.

He served as an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Simmons College and Bentley College, and as an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University and American University. While a seminary student, he served as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard and was appointed Interim Director of the Boston Black Theological Institute, a consortium of theology schools that included Harvard, Gordon-Conwell, Boston University, Episcopal Theological School, and Andover Newton Theological School.

For more than 20 years during his pastorate at First Baptist, Rev. Dr. Coverdale also served as Dean of the National Training Laboratories, traveling throughout the United States to teach organizational leadership to leaders in the corporate, public, and educational sectors.

He later served for five years on the faculty of the Harvard Divinity School Center for the Study of Values in Public Life, including teaching at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and engaging religious leaders from across the United States and around the world.

A Legacy of Justice & Peace

Rev. Dr. Coverdale has long been an advocate for justice, peace, and human dignity.

On behalf of the American Baptist Churches of Metro New York, he traveled to Nicaragua during wartime as part of a clergy delegation and participated in several denominational missions to South Africa, representing African American concerns regarding apartheid. During one of those missions, he was granted a special audience with Bishop Desmond Tutu.

In 1991, he traveled with Rhode Island State Representative Joseph Newsome to the first African/African American Summit in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, whose theme was “Building Bridges for the Future.” Following the summit, Rev. Dr. Coverdale and Rep. Newsome helped secure student visas, educational placements, and community support for young Liberian refugees seeking to escape the conflict in Liberia.

He later participated in Project Interchange, traveling to Israel as one of 12 U.S. clergy delegates to meet with Jewish and Palestinian leaders and discuss the Middle East peace process.

A Community Change Agent

Throughout his pastorate, Rev. Dr. Coverdale believed the church should be a catalyst for positive change in the community.

His leadership helped establish programs supporting youth, adults, health equity, and economic opportunity. These included computer literacy classes developed in partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory and a mentoring program for at-risk third- and fourth-grade students in collaboration with Edgar Avenue School and Long Island Youth Guidance.

He also led initiatives addressing health disparities on the East End, including free mammograms and prostate screenings in partnership with Stony Brook School of Medicine and the Suffolk County Department of Health.

Under his leadership, First Baptist received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to introduce telehealth technology to underserved residents. This became Project C.A.R.E., a collaborative initiative involving First Baptist, Stony Brook, Suffolk County Office of Minority Health, Peconic Bay Medical Center, Federation of Organizations, and community healthcare partners. The project helped hundreds of residents manage chronic illnesses including COPD, asthma, hypertension, and diabetes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rev. Dr. Coverdale opened the church sanctuary as a vaccination site in partnership with Northwell Health and the Suffolk County Department of Health, helping hundreds of residents receive their initial COVID vaccinations.

Investing in the Community

Rev. Dr. Coverdale's commitment to community investment has also taken the form of philanthropy and long-term economic development.

Early in his ministry at First Baptist, he established a scholarship fund that continues to help high school graduates pursue higher education. Throughout his pastorate, he led food drives and fundraising efforts supporting people affected by disasters and hardship, including victims of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, and flooding in Riverhead.

He also helped provide resources and space to emerging community organizations, including the Long Island Organizing Network and the Butterfly Effect Project. First Baptist continues to provide a home to organizations such as Open Arms Care Center, whose food pantry serves thousands of families in the community each month.

Perhaps his most enduring community initiative is the Family Community Life Center (FCLC), which he founded in 1988 in response to the needs of the Riverhead community.

Today, Rev. Dr. Coverdale chairs the FCLC Board and continues to champion its vision of a community center and affordable housing development serving working families and individuals across the East End. The Northville Commons project will include a publicly accessible community and recreation center and 80 affordable rental and condominium homes on the church's 12.5-acre property.

Honoring the Legacy of Dr. King

Rev. Dr. Coverdale has also been a steadfast advocate for preserving the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Beloved Community.

In 1986, he established the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, before the national holiday honoring Dr. King had been established. What began as a small gathering in Riverhead grew into a signature community event attracting more than 800 people at its peak.

Under his leadership, the breakfast brought nationally recognized speakers to the East End while honoring the everyday individuals whose work advances social justice, equity, and inclusion throughout Long Island.

Continuing to Serve

Rev. Dr. Coverdale's life and ministry are grounded in the words of Matthew 25:40:

“...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Although retired from the pastorate, he continues to serve his community. He remains a board member of Open Arms Care Center, chairs the Board of the Family Community Life Center, and plans to lead its capital campaign. He also serves as an appointed member of Sheriff Toulon's Chaplaincy staff, holding the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Rev. Dr. Coverdale is a graduate of Lincoln University, the historic HBCU, and Harvard University. He is a Golden Heritage Life Member of the NAACP and has been a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. for 60 years, currently belonging to the CHI Rho chapter.

Family

Rev. Dr. Coverdale is the father of two adult children, grandfather of eleven grandchildren, and great-grandfather of nine great-grandchildren.

He resides in Aquebogue, New York, with his wife of nearly 63 years, Shirley.