From developing universities in the Dominican Republic to advising microcredit programs in Indonesia, a pair of reverends bearing decades of global humanitarianism are bringing their benevolence to the corner of 13th and Tasker streets. In efforts to resurrect a once-thriving congregation, the historic St. John’s Baptist Church, whose impact has also reached around the world, has turned toward two colossal religious and academic forces of Eastern University.

Along with the Rev. Dr. Lyndell D. Backues, an associate professor of economic development, prominent evangelical Baptist spiritual leader Tony Campolo is currently serving as one of the two interim pastors of the Passyunk Square parish until a new full-time leader is named who will be the fifth in the church’s more than century-old history.