Meet the Pastor!
Dr. James P. Bowers
The Reverend Dr. James P. Bowers is an Alabama native with over 35 years of pastoral, academic, and leadership ministry. He holds a BA (Lee University), MA (Pentecostal Theological Seminary), MDIV (Louisville Presbyterian Seminary), and a PhD (Southern Baptist Seminary).
A former seminary dean, university professor, hospital chaplain, and grant writer, he is an author and contributor to nine books and a frequent conference speaker. Now in his eighth year as Senior Pastor of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, VA, Dr. Bowers believes every church should be a place where people encounter the awesome, living God revealed in Jesus Christ.
His passions include preaching, teaching, leadership development, community engagement, and pastoral care. He also mentors Doctor of Ministry students and continues research in leadership, formation, racial justice, and Wesleyan Pentecostal spirituality.
He and his wife Laura, a retired educator, have been married for 48 years and reside in Chesapeake, Virginia. They warmly invite all who are spiritually hungry to come experience the presence of God.