Rev. Thomas H. Harper was reared in Vinton, VA and received his primary education in the Roanoke County School System. He came to know of God’s love and salvation available to him through Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his Savior and Lord at an early age.

After acknowledging his call to the ministry in 1995, he was ordained and licensed at his home church, First Baptist Church in Vinton, VA under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Henry A. Lindsey. Rev Harper immediately began to matriculate at the Bethlehem Bible College, and later enrolled in Richmond Virginia Seminary.

Rev. Harper was called to pastor the First Mount Airy Missionary Baptist Church in Hardy, VA and later served as the Senior Pastor of Altha Grove Baptist Church in Forest, VA. Realizing the necessity to continue to grow in the Lord, Rev. Harper carried on his leadership skills in Jesus Christ by obtaining his Bachelor of Arts Degree and Master of Divinity Degree at Richmond Virginia Seminary. Dr. Harper earned his Doctoral Degree from Eastern Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, VA in May of 2021.

After retiring from the Norfolk Southern Railroad, Rev. Harper joined Central Baptist Church under the guidance of the late Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Keaton. Shortly, after serving as an Associate Minister at Central, Rev. Harper was called as the Senior Pastor of Pine Street Baptist Church in Covington, VA.

After Rev. Keaton retired, Rev. Harper was chosen to become the next pastor of Central Baptist Church. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).