The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, will be the keynote speaker at the closing luncheon for the 11th annual Leadership Conference Celebrating African-American History Month at noon Saturday in the Trojan Center Ballroom on the campus of Troy University.

Warnock has served as pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.

“Ebenezer Baptist Church is known worldwide as the spiritual home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Shelia Jackson, Conference public relations chair. Rev. Warnock served as youth pastor at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, as associate pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and as senior pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore.

“Rev. Warnock has been active in defending voting rights and is well known for his innovative urban ministries.”

Warnock’s “Cutting Thru Crisis,” which is a barbershop ministry has received national acclaim,” Jackson said.

“Rev. Warnock is known for taking the message where the people are,” Jackson said. “He conducted a series of Bible studies at a car wash.”

Warnock has been active in the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. He was listed as one of “Thirty Leaders of the Future” by Ebony Magazine and as one of “Twenty to Watch” by the African American Pulpit Journal.

Warnock holds a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and three graduate degrees, including a Ph.D., from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is a graduate of the Leadership Program sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Committee and a graduate of the Summer Leadership Institute of Harvard University.

The Leadership Conference Celebrating African-American History Month will be Friday and Saturday at Troy University.

The Conference will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Trojan Center Theater with the keynote address by Dr. Randel Pinkett, winner of season four of “The Apprentice.”

Leadership workshops will be held Saturday morning at the Trojan Center.

Pike County Commissioner Homer Wright is serving as chair of this year’s conference.

Tonya Terry, anchor of WSFA-TV’s “Today in Alabama” and “WSFA 12 News at Noon,” will serve as emcee for the event.

Registration for the 2012 Leadership Conference at Troy University is $30 for adults and $15 for university students and includes the Saturday luncheon.

To register for the conference, visit http://troy.troy.edu/leadershipconference/ or contact Barbara Patterson at 334-670-3204 or Jackson at 334-670-2283.