Dr. Sandiford was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. After high school, Dr. Sandiford was stationed in New York while serving in the U.S. Army as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division, and he was deployed to Panama and Belize. Upon the end of his enlistment, Dr. Sandiford worked for New York State in juvenile corrections and after 10 years, God called him to full-time ministry. Dr. Sandiford holds a BS in Modern European History from The State University of New York (2003) and an MDIV from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (2012). While in seminary, he was involved in church planting, and he served in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps for the 42nd Infantry Division. Dr. Sandiford pastored a Baptist church on Long Island, New York, for six years until moving to Mid-America where he received his PhD (2022) in Practical Theology with minors in Church History and Missions. Dr. Sandiford is married to Jennifer, whom he met in 8th grade, and they have four children: Jake (married to Emily), Ryan, Daphne, and Isaiah. He has been on missions trips to Uruguay, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Chile. His hobbies include spending time with family, reading military history, and hunting.
Zachary J. Sandiford, PhD
Director of Operations and Security
Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Missions, and Church History
Education
MDiv, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; PhD, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Missions, and Church History, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Adjunct Instructor, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Teaching Fellow under Dr. Michael Spradlin, President, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.
Field Experience
Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Bay Shore, NY; Church Planting Intern, River of Life Church, Guilderland, NY through the Baptist Convention of New York; Pulpit Supply in New York, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas; Mission trips to Uruguay, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Chile.
Other Experience
Infantryman, Specialist, 1/87 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, Ft. Drum, NY; Chaplain Candidate, 2nd Lieutenant, Special Troops Battalion, 42nd Infantry Division, Troy, NY.
Writings
“An Examination of the Homiletical Ministry of Amzi Clarence (A. C.) Dixon in Response to a Shifting Social and Spiritual Environment.” PhD dissertation, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.
Travel
Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina