Dr. Hazel Blount to be elevated to apostle at Warrenton Church of God

Dr. Hazel Blount, a Warren County native, will be elevated from pastor to apostle during an Affirmation Service scheduled for 1 p.m. on July 11 at the Warrenton Church of God, located at 512 S. Main St., Warrenton. The ceremony will be performed by Apostle Liz Modeste of Petersburg, Va.

Blount’s early life was marked by religious activity; at ages 12 and 13, she participated in street ministry in the Bronx, N.Y. Her family background included significant church roles, with her father, Horace Perry, serving as a deacon and her mother, Lucy Perry, as mother of the church in Centerville. Her aunt, Lillie Williams of Northampton County, was overseer of a church organization that became Apostolic Faith Church of Giving Grace, and her brother, Bishop Geanie Perry, was pastor of a church in Centerville.

Called to the ministry in October 1981, Blount holds two associate degrees in Christian Education and a bachelor’s degree in Education from North Carolina Central University. She taught at Vaughan Elementary School in the late 1980s. She later earned a Masters in Ministry from Berean Light Bible Institute in Emporia, Va., and a Doctorate in Ministry from the same institution in 2025.

Her ministerial career includes being licensed to preach through Deliverance Tabernacle Fellowship of Churches in Hillsborough under Bishop Georgia Riley. She co-founded the family ministry Victory in Christ in Durham and served as youth pastor and minister of music at Peace Chapel of Deliverance under Bishop Lizzie Anderson. Additionally, she served as associate minister at Lighthouse Marketplace Ministries in Woodstock, Va., and as outreach pastor for seniors at Greater Joy North in Roanoke Rapids under Bishop Shelton Daniel and Pastor Artez Adkins.

At Greater Joy North, Blount directed a community outreach program and established the Mothers on Duty program. She also served as a pastor in Halifax County, where she hosted a Christian radio program. Her service extends to disaster response, having completed a mission project in Puerto Rico after a hurricane, and she currently conducts a ministry with a group from Pakistan.

For 18 years, Blount conducted outreach ministry as a pastor without walls. In January of this year, she opened Blessed Assurance International Outreach Ministry, where she serves as a full-time pastor. The ministry shares Oak Chapel AME Church, holding worship services at 10:30 a.m. on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of the month.

Since 2022, Blount has been active in volunteering in Warren County at Warren County High School and WARR Radio. She supports The Front Porch Grocery Co-op and other local ventures, MCs programs, and is active with the NAACP and in supporting schools. While residing in Halifax County, she stated, “God sent me back to Warren County,” noting her presence is for the unchurched and people in the community.

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