Dr. John M. Wallace, Jr., is a bivocational urban minister whose career demonstrates the integration of faith and work. Dr. Wallace is the senior pastor of Bible Center Church, located in Pittburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, and a full professor at the University of Pittsburgh, with appointments in the School of Social Work, the Katz Graduate School of Business and the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Wallace integrates his faith and work through the ministries of Bible Center and through his research, teaching and service at Pitt. He is the founder of The Oasis Project—the community and economic development division of Bible Center. He is passionate about what he calls, “holistic faith-based development,” with a particular focus on education, employment, entrepreneurship and “withintrification”—real estate ownership and development by local residents and organizations. His current projects focus on ESTEAM (entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, art and math) education for children, and the creation of businesses to create jobs, meet pressing needs and transform communities. The Oasis Project’s most recent venture is Everyday Café, Pittsburgh’s first completely cashless coffeehouse and Homewood’s hub for art, culture and community.

In addition to being a pastor and professor, Dr. Wallace is a husband and a father. He has been married to his wife Cynthia for thirty years and together they have four children. Dr. Wallace attended Head Start in Homewood and earned his BA from the University of Chicago and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan, all in sociology.