The Reverend Doctor Erika D. Crawford heard her call to preach at the age of 21 and answered at the age of 23, preaching her initial sermon at Reid Chapel AME Church in Columbia, SC (7th Episcopal District).  After completing her undergraduate studies in Organizational Management at Voorhees College in Denmark, SC, Rev. Dr. Crawford went on to receive a Master of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary (New York, NY), a Doctor of Ministry degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Fordham University (Bronx, NY) and postgraduate work at Regent’s Park College at Oxford University (Oxford, UK).

Ministry has taken Dr. Crawford to pulpits in South Africa, Jamaica (W.I.), England, Guyana, and Bermuda. Over the course of more than 20 years of ministry, she is blessed to have served in a variety of ministerial capacities including Pastor of Allen Temple AME Church of Mt. Vernon, NY and African Methodist Episcopal Ebenezer Church of Rahway, NJ; Coordinator of Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministry for Fordham University; Team Chaplain for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) New York Liberty; and Director of the Pastoral Care Department at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Rahway, NJ. 

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While teaching Believers how to walk by faith as a total tithing congregation, Dr. Crawford led all of her congregations in debt liquidation, renovations, and property acquisition, including the financing of a house of worship for Ebenezer AME Church in Malawi, Africa (20th Episcopal District).  In her first 5 years at Mt Zion, she led the congregation in more than $200,000 in renovations, rezoning of all church properties, acquisition of new properties, and the establishment of several new ministries including the Impact Grant – which selects families with children in the community to sow into financially, spiritually, and educationally.

In addition to her current Pastoral work and responsibilities at Mt. Zion AME Church (Dover, DE),  Dr. Crawford is the Connectional (International) President of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Women In Ministry (AME/WIM) with a membership of more than 4000 clergywomen; a co-founder and convener of High Heels Seeking Higher Ground Women’s Retreat Ministry; a life member of the NAACP; co-founder of The ToolShed Community a forum for racial dialogue, Member of The Village a community education support group, Chair of the Board of Examiners for the Delaware Annual Conference, Vice-Chair of the Trustee Board for the Delaware Annual Conference, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a member of The Links, Inc., and holds a number of other leadership positions in the AME Church and community.