Rev. John Earl Cameron Sr.
A life well lived. A life dedicated to the Gospel.
JANS – Rev. John Earl Cameron Sr., a pillar in his West Jackson community, succumbed November 30, 2025. He was 93. A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, December 13, 2025, 12 Noon, at Greater Mount Calvary MB Church, where he served as pastor for more than 55 years. The church is located at 1400 Robinson Street in Jackson, MS.
Rev. Cameron not only welcomed students from nearby Jackson State University to make Greater Mount Calvary their home away from home but provided computers and other essential supplies to keep them focused on their studies.
Under his leadership, with the abiding support of his wife Lenora who he married in 1969, the church grew in membership, finances, and organization. Mrs. Cameron transitioned earlier this year in June.
Rev. Cameron was born in 1932 in Hattiesburg, MS. He was a graduate of Springfield Vocational High School, Class of 1951. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Rust College in Holly Springs, MS and attended American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, TN.
Rev. Cameron was a pioneer, leader, and civil rights worker known for working on voter registration campaigns with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He served as Director of the Hattiesburg Minister’s Project and was the first African American to run for Congress in Mississippi’s 5th Congressional District since Reconstruction. He served as pastor in Meridian, Laurel, and Hattiesburg at Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church before taking the helm at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in 1970.
In 2008, his ministry reached the international community when he preached to the residents of a remote village on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia. In 2010, Greater Mount Calvary renamed its community facility the John E. Cameron Sr. Family Life Center in honor of him and in recognition of his dedication to the church.
Rev. Cameron also served on the Governors’ Council on Minority Affairs, as a former board member of the Jackson Urban League, as Executive Director of the Greater Mount Calvary Community Development Corporation, as former Coordinator of Youth Affairs for the State of Mississippi, and as well as past historian of the National Progressive Baptist Convention.
He is survived by his children: Jonetta Cameron McCutchen of Des Moines, Iowa; John Earl Cameron Jr. of Des Moines, Iowa; Phedra Cameron, and Kiernan Bennett, both of Phoenix, Arizona; 10 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; sister, Maxine and brother, Paul; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
