Altruism Awardee – Pastor Joseph Louis Adair Jr
Pastor Joseph Louis Adair Jr. was born March 1, 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, to Joseph Louis and Alvaree Watson Adair.
The family migrated to the city of Elizabeth in 1963. Pastor Adair graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth.
Pastor Adair used his life experiences and training to advocate for the community in general and children in particular. He was a certified drug and alcohol counselor, and founder of Back to Life, a spiritual recovery ministry.
On December 26, 1992 he married his beautiful wife Rosalind D. Lewis-Adair. At the time of his death, they were married for 30 years.
In 1992 he received the call to preach the Gospel. He attended the Newark Bible College, Evangelical Institute in Newark, NJ., graduated from the New York Theological Seminary in 1999, and the Leadership Newark Program in 2001.
Pastor Adair served the Union Baptist Church in Elizabeth for twelve years as Associate Minister under the leadership of Rev. R. Lenton Buffalo, Jr. While at Union Baptist, he served as Minister of Men and Youth.
In October 2004, he was called to pastor the Second Macedonia Baptist Church in Elizabeth, NJ. His honest and straightforward way of preaching and one on one love for all people, was a blessing to the church. Under Pastor Adair’s leadership, Second Macedonia received its 501c3 and established new ministries including: Education Liaison, Intercessory Prayer Ministry, Men and Women’s Ministries, Youth and Adult Praise Team Ministries, Project Nehemiah, Armor Bearers Ministry, Rites of Passage Ministries and Senior Ministry.
Pastor Adair was the recipient of many awards and accolades which include: The Governor’s leadership award, Father of the year, Black Tradesman, Union’s Man of the year, and the Community Leadership Award from the Union County Human Relations Commission.
He was the Founder of Youth Jubilee Fellowships and has served as President of the Elizabeth Chapter of NAACP (3 times), Vice President of the National Action Network (Elizabeth NJ Chapter), President and Vice President of the Union County Head Start Policy Council, President of Catherine Street Block Association, President and Vice President of the Elizabeth Municipal Alliance and Board Member of the Tri County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Pastor Adair recently retired after 27 years as the Relocation Officer for the City of Elizabeth’s Department of Planning and Community Development. While there, he assisted countless homeless and at-risk families and individuals with emergency shelter and relocation subsidies. At the time of his heavenly transition, along with his pastoral responsibilities, Pastor Adair served as the Chairperson of Religious Affairs for the Elizabeth NAACP.
Our beloved Pastor Adair went to be with the Lord on the morning of August 19th, 2023.
