Biography

 

Dr. James M. Harrison had served as pastor of Main Street Baptist Church, Smithfield, VA since 1996. Born in Prince George County, Virginia, he graduated from Surry County High School in Dendron, VA. He furthered his education at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies. James Harrison attended the Virginia Union School of Theology, Richmond, earning the Master of Divinity degree in 1986. Additionally, he is a 1997 graduate of the Union Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio where he earned the Doctor of Ministry degree.

 

Dr. Harrison was ordained by the American Baptist Churches of the South Ministers Council of Area II, Region of the South, in November 1983. Dr. Harrison began his professional career at the Zion Union Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, serving as Administrative Assistant to the pastor, the late Rev. Raymond Allen Hailes who became mentor to Dr. Harrison. Since then, he has held pastorates at churches in Crozet, Elkton, Low Moor, Clifton Forge, and Covington, Virginia.

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As an adjunct professor, Dr. Harrison taught in the Virginia’s Community College System for the past 17 years, and served as an institutional chaplain with the Chaplain’s Service of the Churches of Virginia. Additionally, he sits on several boards of Directors, including Community Housing Partners of Virginia, Inc. On August 1, 2015, Dr. James Mitchell Harrison, was elected to serve the Region of the South as Regional Executive Minister and is only the fourth person to serve in this position.

 

He and his wife, the former Cathy Williams, have three children: Dr. Lauren Michel Harrison, Jarrod Mitchell Harrison, and Cassandra Leigh Diggs (Adron Diggs).

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