2026 SPECIAL SESSION I
ENROLLED
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2079
Commending the Reverend Dr. Reginald Cornell Woodhouse.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, June 22, 2026
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Reginald Cornell Woodhouse has provided visionary spiritual leadership to the residents of Newport News as pastor of First Baptist Church Jefferson Park for more than two and a half decades; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Woodhouse grew up in Chesapeake, where he attended public schools, then earned degrees from Geneva College and Norfolk State University; he worked as a teacher at the former Briarfield Elementary School for several years before answering the call to the ministry; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Woodhouse pursued postgraduate degrees from Roanoke Theological Seminary, Providence Theological Seminary, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg; and
WHEREAS, in 1999, the Reverend Dr. Woodhouse was called to pastor the First Baptist Church Jefferson Park in Newport News; under his leadership, the church has formed many new ministries to help members of the congregation grow in faith and better serve the wider community; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Reverend Dr. Woodhouse was selected to serve as the president of Providence Bible College & Theological Seminary in Norfolk; and
WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Woodhouse has provided outstanding leadership to numerous civic organizations, including the Tidewater Peninsula Baptist Association, Virginia State Baptist Convention Executive Board, Metro Baptist Ministers Conference, Urban League of Hampton Roads, Inc., and Peninsula Baptist Pastor's Council; he was also elected to the Hampton City School Board in May 2015 and re-elected in May 2020; now, therefore, be it