Gloria Johnson-Rodgers, D.O.’89

Gloria Johnson-Rodgers, D.O.’89, was featured in the Columbus, GA, Ledger-Enquirer on Oct. 14 for giving up her medical practice in 1993 to become an evangelist and to serve those in need. She and her husband, Charles Rodgers, lead the Cathedral of Prayer Church of God in Christ in Columbus. It is home to the Gwendolyn Wilkes Rainbow Center, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income families, and to the annual Marine Toys for Tots Foundation program, which helps give children a happy holiday. She also spends her days visiting and praying for those in hospitals, nursing homes and jail. Johnson-Rodgers, who told the newspaper she grew up poor “in a shotgun house with no running water,” has made numerous humanitarian trips through the years to Nigeria and Haiti. She set up feeding stations in Nigeria that have fed thousands. She brings medical supplies and toiletries to the people. She has helped build orphanages and schools. The author of two books, Author of Offense and Spirits, she has received many honors for her work, including a National Caring Institute Award and the National Points of Light Award. She was given the Sojourner Truth Award from the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club in Washington.