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The 22nd Annual MLK Unity Prayer Breakfast, in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and sponsored by the Stanly County Chapter of the NAACP, will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 18 at the E.E. Waddell Community Center, 621 Wall St., Albemarle. Doors open at 8:30.

Cost is $25 per ticket, available for purchase through NAACP members or by contacting Dexter Townsend at 704-550-7065 or Brenda Stanback at 704-965-1294.
Guest speaker will be Bishop Tavaris La Keith Johnson Sr.
Johnson had his first sermon on Aug. 20, 1995, when he was 14.
He began his public preaching ministry under the tutelage of the late Rev. Adolph Thomas, at his home church, Living Water Baptist in High Point.
A native of Guilford County, Johnson received his Certificate of Ordination and became more advanced in the gospel ministry, as well as Baptist doctrine.
Johnson worked diligently to assist his pastor in ministry. Soon after his pastor’s retirement, he became the senior pastor of Living Water Baptist Church in October 2000 with a unanimous vote of its membership.
He organized New Dimension Community Christian Center in High Point on Sept. 15, 2004 and held his first service as founder on Sept. 19.
In March 2018, he organized and established New Beginnings Community Christian Center in Yanceyville, with his co-founder and godmother Gladys Poteat.
Johnson worked as pastor of both New Dimension and New Beginnings until June 2015.
In November 2015, Johnson was called to pastor the Red Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Cameron, where he served until July 2019.
On Oct. 31, 2018, Johnson was invited to the 151st Annual Session of the General Baptist State Convention in Durham as one of the keynote preachers who participated in the segment “Preaching Under 40.”
On Jan. 20, 2020, Johnson was invited as the keynote speaker for the 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center as hundreds stood to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” He called for respect and compassion for all people.
Johnson became a part of True Vine Churches of Deliverance (TVCOD) in the summer of 2010, where he was appointed as a Diocesan Bishop in the Greater Memorial Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction on Aug. 9, 2011, during Holy Convocation at Macedonia Worship Center in Winston-Salem. Currently he serves TVCOD and GMEJ in Ecumenical Affairs.
He received a certificate of completion for Chaplain Associate Training on Oct. 16, 2017, from First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.
Johnson served The ACTS Fellowship International, Inc. from Aug. 9, 2017, until Oct. 13, 2022. While a part of The ACTS Fellowship International, Inc., Johnson served in various capacities: Regional Bishop, International General Secretary, and Vice Presiding Bishop.
On Sept. 8, 2020, during the global pandemic, Johnson was called to pastor the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Badin. He preached his first sermon as the new pastor of Mt. Zion outside on the lawn on Sept. 27, 2020. Within the first year of his pastorate at Mt. Zion, the mortgage debt was paid in full in December 2021 and just before his third year as pastor of Mt. Zion the church was declared debt free in May 2023.
Johnson currently serves as the president of The Holy Week Association with five participating churches including Mt. Zion in Badin, First Baptist Church of Badin, St. Luke Holiness of Badin, McDonald Chapel AME Zion Church of Badin and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of New London.
Johnson has been employed since Oct. 8, 2018, with Central Carolina Physician Practices of Central Carolina Hospital — A Duke Life Point Hospital in Sanford. He works as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant in their Family Medicine, Sports and Orthopedic Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Urology Clinics. He received his Certificate of Completion and License as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant in September 2022.
Johnson is currently enrolled at Sandhills Community College in pursuit of his associate degree in nursing and plans to graduate in 2026.
Johnson married Evangelist Whitnei Diarra Holman Johnson on Dec. 7, 2013, at Macedonia Worship Center in Winston-Salem. He is the proud father of three daughters, Heavenly Ta’Vara Johnson (24), Brittany Renee Johnson (18), and Ade’ya Serenity Holman (17); three sons Tavaris La Keith Johnson, Jr. (16), Michael Leon Johnson (15), and Prince Layden Josiah Johnson (9); and he is the grandfather of Princess Sa’Rayah Monae Barnes (2). He is the godfather of two children, Braxton (6) and Nyomi (3).
On Aug. 20, Johnson will reach a major milestone of 30 years of ministry and 25 years in pastoral care.