Virgil Woods is the proud husband of Teresa Ann Woods. Having been married 17 years, they are the parents of Carissa Woods and Virgil Woods II.

His early education started in Des Moines, Iowa where he showed a keen interest in Mathematics and Computer Science and in 1988 he received the George Washington Carver Scholarship—a full ride to Iowa State University. Frustrated and distracted by social life, he lost his scholarship and dropped out of college two years later. After working a number of odd jobs, he became the General Manager and Partner of Inner City Music Co., a retail music store. Struggling to compete with larger retail chains, Inner City Music Co. was forced to close in 1997.

His family became members of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and February 17, 1998 he preached his first sermon and entered the itinerant ministry. He returned to school, Upper Iowa University, and completed in his Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in 1999. Wanting to continue his theological education, his family moved to Evanston, Illinois and he enrolled at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary on the campus of Northwestern University. During his second year he was ordained an Itinerant Deacon in the Illinois Annual Conference and he accepted his first charge as the pastor of Bethel AME Church, Clinton, Iowa. For the next two years, he would commute 300 miles round trip every week in order to complete his coursework, while continuing to pastor in Clinton. Bethel’s Sunday attendance would grow from 35 to over 100 people during this time. In 2002, he received his Master of Divinity Degree and was awarded recognition by the seminary for academic excellence in the area of Systematic Theology. The same year, he was ordained an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 2002, he was appointed the pastor of Grant AME Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During his short two year tenure the average Sunday attendance would grow over 100% and gross receipts from contributions would grow 70%. He also served as the treasurer for the Canadian Annual Conference.

In 2004, he was appointed the pastor of Allen Chapel AME Church, Rockford, Illinois. By 2005, the regular Sunday attendance had grown from 65 to almost 200 and in 2006 the congregation moved to a larger 32,000sq.ft. facility. Allen Chapel has enjoyed a number of new programs under his leadership including the development of a Senior’s Social Ministry, a rejuvenated emphasis on education, youth and scholarships, the development of a nursery, and a Health Ministry, just to name a few. Upon his departure in 2011, the church membership had grown to 400.

In 2011, he completed his doctoral dissertation, titled You’re the Pastor, Now What?, and received his Doctor of Ministry Degree in Leadership and Congregational Development from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.

He has served in a number of community positions including Board Member of the Boys and Girls Club and Golden Apple Foundation. He was appointed by the Mayor to the Board of Directors for the Rockford Metro Centre, Rockford’s largest multi-purpose venue. He is also continues to serve as the Chairperson of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Program. He continues to work in his church and community as an advocate for justice and places a special emphasis on the importance of education. In 2010, he was recognized as the Rockford, Illinois Community Leader of the Year.

In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, reading, video games and developing Apple software.