Reverend Betty Jeffcoat Wannamaker is the daughter of the late Rev. Jeremiah and Rhudine Jeffcoat, Sr., the 7th of eight children.  Reverend Wannamaker has two daughters.

 

Rev. Wannamaker is a graduate of Hopkins High School, Hopkins, SC., holds a BA in Organizational Management from Claflin University, and a masters in counseling from Webster University. She has a certification in Theology, studied at the Trinity College of Bible and Theological Seminary and the Southern Lutheran Seminary.  Rev. Wannamaker is a QPR Gatekeeper for Suicide Prevention by Mental Health America of South Carolina and a Notary Public for the State of SC.

In July 2000, Reverend Wannamaker acknowledged a special call from God on her life to preach and delivered her initial sermon on Super Bowl Sunday 2001, and was licensed to preach the same year.  She is an ordained minister at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Columbia, S C, where she serves under the leadership of the Reverend Bobby B. Cox, Jr., as the Pastor’s Executive Assistant and the Congregational Life and Care Minister.

 

At Bethel, Rev Wannamaker has held a wide variety of positions, chaired multiple ministries, served as School Administrator for Bethel Learning Centers, and a trainer for Class Leaders.  She is a member of the NAACP and the Columbia District/Conference Women in Ministry, and she serves as Secretary on the Executive Board for the 7th Episcopal District WIM.

Rev. Wannamaker has received a variety of awards and accolades for the various roles she has had within the church and by outside organizations.  She is a former Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA) member, received her Meeting and Event Planning Certification from Midlands Technical College to further her passion for event planning. With this experience, she chaired the Brailsford for Bishop Campaign in 2016 when he was elected 136th Bishop of the AMEC.

Rev. Wannamaker believes in going beyond the walls of the physical church and into the community, spreading the Word and the love of God. She is the founder of W.E.T.O (Women Empowered to Overcome) conferences, encouraging females of all ages to live out Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives unto death.”

 

She lets nothing separate her from the Love of God. The Love that God gives her, flows from her heart to others.  She is affectionately known as Ma Betty and Reverend Mother to many girls and boys, young women, and men, letting the Love of God flow to them.           

 

Her life scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.”