Rev. Dr. Carol W. Echols is the founder of Visions A.M.E. Church in Missouri City/Stafford, TX (southwest Houston area) and has served as its pastor for more than 30 years. She is also the President and founder of Crossroads Community Development Corporation, positioned to impact the Southwest Houston, Missouri City and Stafford area. Dr. Echols holds bachelor's degree in Zoology from of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a bachelor's of science degree from Howard University's Physician Assistant Program in Washington, DC, a Masters of Divinity degree and a Doctorate in Ministry with a specialization in Pastoral Leadership from the Houston Graduate School of Theology. She has also completed a certificate in Executive Leadership for Ministers Program from the Howard University School of Business. After 37 years of service as a board-certified Physician Assistant, she retired from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston (30 years serving the nation’s veterans). She has been a member of the A.M.E. Church since 1979, uniting with Bethel AME Church, Baltimore, MD under then Pastor, now retired Bishop John Richard Bryant. From 1983-85, she served as YPD Director for St. James AME Church, Kinston, NC under Rev. Conrad K. Pridgen, now a retired Presiding Elder. While a member of Payne Chapel AME Church in Houston, TX under the leadership of Rev. Dr. I.C. Gordon, she served as a Steward, a Missionary and a member of the Celestial Choir. In 1987, she accepted a call to preach the gospel and was ordained an itinerant deacon in 1990, and an itinerant elder at the Texas Annual Conference in 1992, at Shiloh A.M.E. Church in Galveston, Texas under the hands of Bishop John R. Bryant. Rev. Dr. Echols has served as an Alternate to the General Conference in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, and as a Delegate in 2016, 2021 and 2024. She co-hosted the historic 1994 Texas Annual Conference as a member of the daring Umoja Four, and has hosted Presiding Elder Planning Meetings, District Conferences, and numerous local church conferences and conventions. She served as Worship Leader for the Tenth District Women In Ministry from 1996–2004, Co-coordinator for the Texas Annual Conference Women In Ministry from 2004-2008, and Treasurer from 2017-2021. In 2021, Dr. Echols was elected as President of the Tenth District AME Women in Ministry where she currently serves. Dr. Echols also serves as Chair of the Ministerial Efficiency Committee and previously served on the Judiciary Committee for the Texas Annual Conference. She has served on the Texas Conference Board of Examiners for the last fifteen years, as lead instructor for the first-year studies, Dean of Instruction for the Board for the last five years, and currently serves as Dean for the Tenth District. Dr. Echols served on the secretarial staff of the Texas Conference for some seven years including three years as Chief Secretary. She has served with the Tenth District Christian Education Committee for over ten years and served the Theological Scholarship Team for eight years. Dr. Echols acknowledges a specific call to a teaching and deliverance ministry, with concerns for healthy families and communities. She likes to be known as a shepherd, ambassador for Christ, and servant of the King and humanity. Her healing ministry empowers and transforms the lives of the lost, disenfranchised, and powerless. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and is a member of the Houston Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter (HMAC).