Rev. Pat Mahoney

Reverend Patrick J. Mahoney is a nationally and internationally known Christian social, political and human rights activist, and an ordained minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

For more than 40 years, Rev. Mahoney has been a fierce advocate for the struggling and oppressed in our society. He has traveled across America and around the world, speaking out with deep passion and conviction on broad issues of social justice. Some of his activities include: sleeping in a dumpster in New England to draw attention to the plight of the homeless; establishing and operating soup kitchens, food pantries and emergency shelters for the needy across America; assisting in the development of a program to ship medical supplies to war-torn Central America; establishing safe homes and shelters for women dealing with domestic violence; marching alongside students and faith leaders in Washington D.C. at the flagship March for Our Lives event to advocate for gun violence prevention; and joining a coalition of prominent faith leaders in signing the Prayers and Action petition, which calls for the Church to decisively respond to the nation’s gun violence epidemic with both prayers and action.

Rev. Mahoney grew up on the Jersey Shore, in Ocean Township, New Jersey. He attended the University of Dayton, OH and Faith School of Theology in Maine where he graduated in 1976. He served from 1977-78 as Youth Pastor at El Bethel Church in New York City, where he worked with troubled youth and gang members.

From 1978 to 1981, Rev. Mahoney was part of the Pastoral staff of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach, Florida where he was ordained as minister-at-large. Here he began a social service program that focused on meeting the needs of the surrounding community, which still continues today.

In 1981, Rev. Mahoney moved to Connecticut to establish New Covenant Church and served there as Pastor until 1987. From 1987 until 1991, he was the Director of the Center for Christian Activism, based in South Florida. The Center was active in challenging the Church to establish Biblical principles in a hurt and fragmented world. Rev. Mahoney has worked extensively on human rights, homelessness, hunger, racism, gun violence and other pressing issues of social justice from a faith-based, biblical perspective.

In September of 1992, Rev. Mahoney moved to the Washington, D.C., where he assumed the position as Director of the Christian Defense Coalition. This is a national ministry committed to challenging Christians to live their faith out in the public square.

In 2015, he established Church on the Hill in Washington, D.C., a faith community established on prayer, worship, public engagement, and justice.

His work has been featured in the national media through such news outlets as Newsweek, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, the Associated Press, Huffington Post, Boston Globe, The London Times, and The Drudge Report. Reverend Mahoney has been seen on ABC, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, CNN and BBC, and has appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” “The Kelly File,” “Larry King LIVE,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Hannity,” “Fox and Friends,” “60 Minutes,” “48 Hours,” “20/20” and CBN’s “The 700 Club.”