Who is Pastor Lorenzo Sewell? Senior pastor goes viral with emotional benediction prayer at Trump's inauguration

Pastor Lorenzo Sewell is trending online after he delivered an emotional benediction prayer during Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2025. Times Now stated that Sewell is known as the senior pastor at the Detroit-based 180 Church and has even supported Trump on various occasions over the years.

According to News X, Lorenzo had been delivering prayers for different events involving Trump for the last few months and also spoke during the Republican National Convention in July last year. He went on to become one of the four faith leaders who delivered prayers at the ceremony.

As part of the closing benediction, Lorenzo Sewell started by saying:

"Let us pray for our 47th president. Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president a millimeter miracle. We are grateful that you are the one that have called him for such a time as this. That America would begin to dream again."

There was also a moment where Lorenzo Sewell referred to the late Martin Luther King Jr.'s popular speech, titled 'I Have a Dream.' The speech was delivered during the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom held in Washington D.C. During the latest inauguration of Trump, Sewell used some words from the speech as he spoke about freedom ringing from various places.

"From the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire, let freedom ring. From the mighty mountains of New York, let freedom ring. From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, let freedom ring. From the snowcap Rockies of Colorado, let freedom ring. From the curvaceous hilltops of California, but God, we're asking you not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain, Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee."

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Pastor Lorenzo Sewell has been involved with several initiatives over the years

A report by Times Now stated that Lorenzo did not have a very normal childhood as he was raised in a physically and verbally abusive house. Things took a turn for the worse after his brother died and his father was sent to prison, leading to Sewell's involvement in the world of drug trade.

The official website of 180 Church stated that Lorenzo Sewell developed a connection with Jesus Christ when he was at Fraser High School, following which he opted to work as a pastor in 1999.

Apart from being associated with the church, he also started the Pontiac Campus in 2013, whose membership expanded to around 500 at one point. He even launched a kitchen remodel aiming to serve hundreds of families every week and a computer lab to provide adult literacy classes, training, and internet facilities for anyone who cannot access the same at their residence.

Lorenzo Sewell additionally offered clothes to those who lost their houses in different incidents by accepting donations from everyone, including children, as stated on 180 Church's website.

Sewell's correspondence with Trump began when the former hosted him at his church in June 2024. His prayer during the event moved Trump, who then asked the pastor to be present at his inauguration ceremony. In a January 13 interview with MLive, he clarified that his prayer during the church event was not "scripted" and addressed how Trump was impressed with the same by saying:

"That was impressive to him because he said that he always asks pastors to pray for him, but many of them feel caught off guard and are unable to pray off the cuff."

While a lot of details about his early and personal life remain unknown, Sewell is a father of three children with his wife Molly.