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The Reverend Dr. James E. Victor, Jr. carries out a long family legacy of Christian ministry. Like his grandfather and others before him, Dr. Victor has dedicated himself to pastoral ministry. Dr. Victor currently serves as the ninth pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to his coming to Northern Virginia, he served the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was involved in numerous community and university functions. Dr. Victor’s last appointment before becoming the under-shepherd of Arlington’s Mount Olive Baptist Church was as the Associate Pastor of the historic home church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia. He was promoted to the Associate position from the Assistant Pastor’s position due to his commendable work in the areas of pastoral care, community outreach, and worship. At Ebenezer, Dr. Victor steered the church’s involvement in the I Have A Dream Project which was a model collaboration between churches and the business sector to ensure that a group of inner city second graders would be tracked throughout their school years and guaranteed the financial resources for a college education.

The Kentucky native was educated in the public schools of Hopkinsville, his hometown, where he distinguished himself both academically and athletically. Dr. Victor earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He further prepared himself for ministry by receiving the Master of Divinity degree with magna cum laude honors from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, and the Master of Theology degree from the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. His thesis: Just Over in the Gloryland: The Recovery of Otherworldliness in Black Theology was well received by the Columbia faculty.

Dr. Victor earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in the Preaching for the 21st Century tract from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC., and currently serves on their Board of Governors. Dr. Victor served previously as Director of Missions for the Progressive National Baptist Convention and as President of the Northern Virginia Black Pastors’ Council. He is the immediate past president of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia and currently serves as the Second Vice President of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention.

Dr. Victor was licensed and ordained by his home church the Moore’s Baptist Church in Kentucky. Dr. Victor enjoys reading, fishing, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.