Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, Senior Pastor of 180 Church, delivered the benediction at Donald Trump’s inauguration after the former president personally invited him, saying, “I want you to pray at the inauguration.” A benediction is a brief prayer asking for divine guidance and blessings, traditionally offered at the end of the ceremony—a practice that dates back to 1937.
Rev. Sewell, who leads Evangel Ministries in Detroit, Michigan, was previously the pastor at Woodside Bible Church and also served as the Director of the Dream Center of Pontiac. He believes deeply in the power of prayer and recently said in a CNN interview, “Our 47th President needs our prayers. He needs our intercessions. He needs us as a nation to be one nation under God.”
Sewell’s life has been anything but easy. Raised in Detroit in an abusive home, he faced numerous struggles in his youth, including his father’s imprisonment and the tragic death of his younger brother. This led him to a life of drugs, drug dealing, and gang leadership. But in 1999, he had a “life-changing encounter with God” that shifted his path, and he’s been devoted to his faith ever since.
Sewell follows in the footsteps of other African American pastors who’ve had the honor of delivering the benediction at presidential inaugurations. Rev. Joseph Lowery gave the prayer at Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, and in 2021, Rev. Barry Black, the first African American Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, offered the closing prayer for Joe Biden’s inauguration.
