Efrem Smith ’92
The Rev. Efrem Smith is a pastor, an author, a national motivational speaker and a consultant focused on creating faith communities that build bridges and unleash compassion and justice.
He’s also a Johnnie. And there’s a direct correlation.
“My time at Saint John’s played a significant role in my developing a passion for racial reconciliation and for multi-ethic community development,” said Smith, co-senior pastor at Bayside Church Midtown in Sacramento, California – one of the fastest-growing, multi-ethnic churches in the western region – and author of five inspirational books.
“The spiritual ethos of Saint John’s had a significant impact on me,” he said. “Br. Dietrich (Reinhart) had a significant influence on me.”
Efrem Smith ’92
All of that has roots in Collegeville for Smith, who arrived at SJU with different plans.
“When I came to Saint John’s, I was a theater major and a communication minor,” he said. “My goal was to become an actor. I really thought that I was going to be an actor or an anchor on a newscast.”
Instead, Smith got involved with campus life – as a member of the SJU Student Senate, as a disc jockey on WSJU-FM, as a partner with Lee Lindsey ’91 in creating the Coalition for Black Cultural Awareness.
“My experience at Saint John’s connected me deeply to the arts community and to the faith community of the Twin Cities,” said Smith, who worked in the SJU Admissions department for a year after graduating with his theater degree before entering the ministry. He was dually ordained in the National Baptist Convention and the Evangelical Covenant Church and received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2019.
Smith and his wife Donecia Norwood-Smith (CSB ’93) also own Influential LLC, a speaking, coaching and consulting company that focuses on racial reconciliation, community development and leadership development.
“My focus is so much on how faith communities can be bridges of reconciliation, how faith communities can be vehicles of compassion, mercy and justice,” said Smith, who is on the board of Sacramento ACT (Area Congregations Together). “I’ve worked to not be captured by the factions that end up representing political polarization and divides.”
In honor of February’s celebration of Black History Month, the annual celebration of the culture and achievements of African Americans in the United States, Saint John’s University would like to share profiles of prominent Black alumni from the past three decades and highlight their stories, reflections and accomplishments.
These profiles will be included in the upcoming Winter/Spring issue of Saint John’s Magazine, as part of a 32-page package that examines and celebrates the history of African Americans at SJU.