Lamar Ferrell is a 1986 Alumni of MCS. In high school, Lamar played Varsity Soccer 1 year, Varsity Basketball 2 years, was on the Speech Team one year, Drama 2 years, was Student Council Chaplain 1 year, Class Chaplain 1 year, Choir 2 years, Yearbook 1 year, was a Homecoming Attendant 1 year, School Newspaper 1 year and Class President 1 year.

Pastor Lamar has shared that his fondest memories of his time at MCS are the lifelong friendships he made while at the school and the teachers that impacted his life.

Lamar went on from MCS and graduated from Miami University and then received his Masters of Divinity from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.  He has been the Lead Pastor at Berachah Church since 1997.  Berachah now has two campuses in the Middletown area and officially opened this past spring the Compassion City Center, a stand-alone, non-profit facility designed to meet the physical, social, spiritual and economic needs of the community.

Lamar has a heart to serve, shepherd, and love people in his path.  One of his ministries beyond the walls of Berachah is serving as a Chaplain for the Division of Police and Fire in Middletown.  He also serves as the Chaplain for Team Fastrax and is actively involved in Wounded Warrior Weekend, which serves Purple Heart recipients and Gold Star families.

Lamar has a heart for missions both locally and globally. Since serving at Berachah, he has led in partnership with the City of Middletown and Berachah “Hands & Feet” ministries along with other local businesses and organizations to partner in rehabbing and remodeling homes and other outreach organizations in the community. He continues to promote, support and encourage local organizations like the Middletown Community Pregnancy Center and Atrium Medical Center’s Heal program through the funding of Berachah Missions.

He has combined his love for sports and outreach to serve as the Chair of the Master’s Mission Benefit Golf Tournament which began in 2004 and just celebrated its 20th annual tournament – having raised over $450,000 to serve children with physical, spiritual and educational needs since its’ inception.  In 2021, Lamar was instrumental in assisting with the start of baseball fundamental camps that subsequently birthed Middie Way Baseball with the Kyle Schwarber Foundation and met Kyle’s vision to bring youth baseball back to Middletown!

Lamar’s heart has been very focused on serving the special needs community in and around Middletown! In partnership with the Berachah Hands & Feet and WonderWorks ministries, along with other local organizations, different types of opportunities for special needs individuals and their families have been made available.  In 2015, in partnership with the Middletown Parks Division, Elley’s Hope Playground Park was opened (inspired by and named after his daughter, Elley, who was born with Spina-Bfida in 2002 and is wheelchair bound). In 2019, Open Special Night, a special needs prom for ages 7th grade and up in Middeletown and surrounding communities was birthed and is an annual event hosted at Berachah Church each Spring.   And this past summer, Lamar developed the First Annual One Special Game at the Luke Kennard Elite Basketball Camp hosted at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg.  This was a game designed to accommodate all types of special needs individuals and including them in a “game of a lifetime” in front of the other campers and counselors.

Lamar’s heart and vision are to continue to serve the Middletown community he has been blessed to be a part of! The call and priority of his life is to reach the lost, lonely, and left out with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to lead by faith!

Pastor Lamar has been married to his wife, Maryanne, for 27 years. He has two children, his daughter Elley and his son Luke.  Luke and his wife Brittany are expecting their first child (and Lamar and Maryanne’s first grandchild) in July.

Our 2025 MCS Alumni Ministry Leadership Award winner is Pastor Lamar Ferrell.