Rev. Paul Will

Director of Field Ministers and Alumni Relations

Paul Will’s story is a unique look at the redemptive power of God. Born to a teenage mother, his biological father died tragically in a boating accident before he was born. He grew up misguided and broken with a struggling single parent, eventually leading to a life of substance abuse, heroin addiction and incarceration in Louisiana.

Facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Angola State Prison, Paul began to follow the path God laid before him. He enrolled in the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary that was operating inside the prison. He earned three degrees, including an AA, BA and an MAPM in Pastoral Ministry. He was employed by the seminary as head tutor, teacher’s aide and head librarian for over 15 years. During this time, Paul also dreamed to do something that had never been done before, start a fully constituted Southern Baptist Church inside the walls of a prison. Paul was duly ordained in 2014 and his church planting vision became a reality in 2015 when Grace Baptist Church officially became part of the Washington Baptist Association and a fully constituted Southern Baptist church.

After applying for clemency 2016 and receiving executive mercy from the Governor of Louisiana, Paul walked out of Angola as a free man in December of 2020. Since leaving Angola, he married his best friend Amy Will and lives in Marietta, Georgia. He is employed by the Prison Seminaries Foundation, the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and locally with the Bartow Baptist Association outside of metro Atlanta. In addition, he recently founded Paul Will Ministries and plans to tell the story of how God transformed his life with the goal of making much of Jesus.