Senior Pastor, Westside Church of GOD, Fresno, California

Paul Lawrence Binion II, was born in Fairfield, Alabama, to Paul Lawrence Binion, Sr. and Sara Ellafair House Binion, and is the eldest of five children. The family eventually settled in Los Angeles, California, where he became a long-time member of Wadsworth Church of God. Pastor Binion is a graduate of Susan Miller Dorsey High School, California State University, Los Angeles with a Bachelor’s Degree in History, and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, with a Master’s Degree in Divinity. The Southern California School of Ministry conferred the Doctor of Divinity upon him. 

He has resided in Fresno, California since 1977, when he came to assume Senior Pastoral Leadership of Westside Church of GOD. 

Pastor Binion is a man who loves GOD, his family, and his community. A sample of his involvement includes his present and past membership and leadership in the following organizations:

• Central California Association of the Church of GOD
• West Fresno Ministerial Alliance
• Interstate Association of the Church of God
• Evangelicals for Social Action
• Fresno Police Advisory Council
• Bringing Broken Neighborhoods Back to Life 
• California Advisory Board Member, African American Church Response to HIV/AIDS
• African American Advisory Board for California Community Colleges

He is a Pastor to Pastors, and is an advisor/confidante to numerous organizations, ministries, fellowships, individuals, and leaders in our city and throughout the central valley area. Pastor Binion is a conference speaker, preacher, and teacher of the Bible, locally and nationally. Pastor Binion founded and is serving as Chairman of a new entity, the Southwest Fresno Development Corporation, whose mission is economic development in West Fresno, particularly in the areas of affordable housing and small business development. He founded Westside Bible Institute and Westside Community Counseling Center at Westside Church of God and is creating an Education and Career Initiative for the Southwest Fresno Community. In addition, he collaborates and coordinates with many public and private organizations. 

After his love for his LORD, the love of Pastor Binion’s life is Valarie Jean Metoyer Binion, his wife of 44 years. They have three daughters: Tiffany, Crisandra, and Kimberley; a son, Ahmad, and daughter-in-law, Gurdeep; a son-in-law, David; granddaughters, Alyssa, Zharia, Amaiya, and Asha; and a grandson, David Paul, and many other precious and dear sons and daughters.