Rev. Derrick M. Hammond
Pastor of Oak Valley Baptist Church
Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Pastor Derrick M. Hammond, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, is son of the late Mrs. Cynthia McGuire and Mr. Curtis Hammond. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University, where he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and served as an engineering co-op with Mead Coated Board. During this time, Pastor Hammond served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Chemical Operations Specialist. Pastor Hammond acknowledged his call into the preaching ministry during his senior year at Auburn and returned to Birmingham to serve as a Youth Pastor upon graduation. He later completed the dual master’s degree program at Samford University, earning Master of Divinity and Master of Business Administration degrees in 2006. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Candler School of Theology, with an emphasis on Church Leadership and Community Witness.

Pastor Hammond was called to the pastorate at Oak Valley in August 2014. His prior ministry positions included serving as a Church Business Administrator for seven years at First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Virginia, and First Calvary Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. In 2013, he received national accreditation as a Certified Church Administrator (CCA) by the National Association of Church Business Administration.

Pastor Hammond is a gifted teacher who received awards while in school, which include the Biblical Languages Scholar Award by Beeson Divinity School and recognition as a national recruitment scholar by The PhD Project and The Fund for Theological Education, where he received honorary membership to the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. He was also inducted into two international honor societies: Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. Pastor Hammond has published work with the National Baptist Convention, the African American Pulpit, Our Daily Bread, the Union Gospel Press, and the Kettering Foundation.

Having served as an elected Oak Ridge City Council member since 2018, Pastor Hammond is heavily involved in local and surrounding community affairs. He is a graduate of Leadership Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge Citizens Police Academy. He also serves on the board of the National Issues Forum Institute, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, and as chairman of the Methodist Medical Center Advisory Board. He has previously served on the Advocacy Committee of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Board, the United Way of Anderson County Board, the Emory Valley Center Board, and the Beeson Divinity School Alumni Advisory Board. Pastor Hammond also works closely with the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, East Tennessee Economic Council, and the local chapter of the NAACP. Additionally, Pastor Hammond served as Finance Commissioner for the Knoxville District Baptist Association and as an adjunct instructor for Tennessee Technical University and Pellissippi State Community College. In 2019, he was selected to be a Scholar in Residence at the Kettering Foundation, examining the civic roles essential for fostering democratic life.

Pastor Hammond and his wife, Dr. Davyda Hammond, moved to Oak Ridge in August 2014 when he accepted his call to the pastorate. The Hammonds are proud parents of two children, Ruth, a doctoral student at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and Alexis, who works at an engineering firm in Orlando, Florida.