In office 1984—present Ordination 1959 Name Ted Sr. | Successor Incumbent Predecessor Bishop David C. Love Consecration 1984 | |
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Church Church of God in Christ See Historic First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Virginia Born 19 October 1935 (age 88)
Raeford, North Carolina ( 1935-10-19 ) Spouse Charletta Virgnia Clifton Thomas | ||
Bishop Ted Thomas Sr
Bishop Ted Thomas Sr. (born October 19, 1935 in Raeford, North Carolina) is an American cleric with the Church of God in Christ who was consecrated to the bishopric of the Historic First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Virginia, COGIC.
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Family
His parents were the late Elder and Mrs. Simuel Thomas Sr. He is the seventh of seven children. He married to Mother Elect Lady Charletta C. Thomas, and they have had six children, Ted Jr., Christopher, Marc, Charles, Jonathan, and Reuben, and several grandchildren.
COGIC Clergyman
Licensed to preach in 1959, Ted Thomas Sr. served the Church of God in Christ in varying capacities as minister of music, pastor of several churches in Virginia, State Sunday School Superintendent, District Superintendent, and Administrative Assistant to Bishop David C. Love before being elevated to Jurisdictional Prelate in 1984. After his consecration as a bishop, Thomas was elected Secretary of the Board of Bishops, COGIC, Inc; a position which he held for 20 years. In addition to heading VA#1, Bishop Thomas serves as pastor of New Community Temple COGIC (the headquarters church) and St. Stephen's COGIC.
Since Thomas became jurisdictional prelate the jurisdiction has expanded from seventeen churches in 1984 to more than 50 as of 2012, extending from Manassas, VA in the north, to South Hampton Roads in the south, and Roanoke, VA in the west.
In 2008, Bishop Thomas was appointed to the Judiciary Board of the Church of God in Christ by Bishop Charles Blake. In 2012, Bishop Thomas announced his campaign to run for the General Board of the Church of God in Christ. He was officially elected to the General Board on November 12, 2012.
Bishop Thomas and New Community Temple COGIC
In 1967, Elder J. L. Clifton (New Community's founder) relocated to Salisbury, Maryland. Elder Ted Thomas Sr. was appointed by Bishop David C. Love to lead the fledgling congregation. The membership grew, necessitating the construction of an additional wing to the modest sanctuary. With a limited operating budget, Elder Thomas oversaw and participated in the construction. Following his appointment to the bishopric in 1984 and the designation of New Community COGIC as the Jurisdictional Headquarters, we added another wing to the sanctuary; again, overseeing and participating in construction. The jurisdiction further grew under Bishop Thomas' leadership necessitating a third addition to the Jurisdictional Headquarters.
By 2002, the Jurisdiction had long outgrown the New Community sanctuary, and, as recourse, held our Holy Convocations in one of the nearby public school auditoriums. In 2002, Bishop Thomas began plans for a new edifice to house the Historic First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Virginia which would be called New Community Temple COGIC and Christian Center. He built the Christian Center first, tore down the original church facility, and erected the Temple.
Education
Bishop Thomas is a graduate of the following institutions: Norfolk State University, Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics; Hampton University, Master of Science degree in Mathematics; Trinity Hall College, Doctor of Divinity Degree. He completed further studies at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois; Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia; Virginia Polytechnic University, Blacksburg, Virginia; College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Secular career
Thomas retired from a career with Norfolk Public Schools, where he was a mathematics teacher and eventually a school administrator. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Bank of the Commonwealth in Virginia and is co-proprietor of the Carver Memorial Cemetery in Suffolk, VA.