Bishop Felton M. Smith, Jr., a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a renowned preacher, teacher, evangelist, prophet and professional licensed counselor. His service in ministry has been a lifelong endeavor, in that he accepted Christ as a child at the age of seven. He began preaching at the age of eight. As a teenager in 1961, he established the Bread of Life Ministries, which became a multimedia organization with a focus on holistic ministry. In 1970, he became the founding pastor of Temple of Faith Church of God in Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has assisted in establishing churches in Atlanta, GA, Dalton, GA, Canton, OH and Jackson, MS. Bishop Smith’s commitment to the community and service to religious civic and business communities led him to serve in the Greater Chattanooga area as Chairman of the Board of the Local “Operation Push.” He was an active member of the city’s Ministerial Alliance. He served as Family Counselor for the Department of Health and Education for the City of Chattanooga for three years.
Bishop Smith began his career at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, CA, where he received an Associate Degree in Electrical Engineering. He continued his studies at Tennessee Temple University in Pastoral studies; the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in Religion and Philosophy with a minor emphasis on Psychology; American Bible Institute in Kansas City, MO, with a curriculum in Biblical Studies; Breadloaf Bible College of Charlotte, NC, receiving his B.S. Degree in Religion and Biblical Studies. Bishop Smith received his Master’s Degree from Oxford Graduate School, having studied Orthodoxy in Ministry and Counseling Psychology. He received his Doctorate of Ministry from the International Bible College and Seminary of Orlando, FL and Doctorate of Philosophy from the Oxford Graduate School.
He has reached millions of people through the media and international evangelism. Through the Bread of Life Ministries, Bishop Smith has been heard on radio and viewed on television in several states through “Power for Today” and “Bread of Life” broadcastings. His ministry has been shared in lecture halls and chapels of many colleges and universities. Bishop Smith’s international evangelism ministry has taken him to the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Israel, and other parts of Europe.
Bishop Smith was ordained an Elder in the Church of God in Christ in 1967 at the age of 19 by the late Presiding Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr., and he has served as National Adjutant Overseer, Administrator for the National Music Department, District Superintendent, and Jurisdictional Administrative Assistant in the Church of God in Christ, and consecrated to the Episcopacy on September 11, 1999, by Former Presiding Bishop Chandler D. Owens. He presently serves as the prelate of Tennessee Eastern First Jurisdiction, and as the Senior Pastor of New Covenant Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to his local and state duties; he presently serves as Episcopal Coordinator on the Board of Bishops.
He is the loving and caring husband to Evangelist Connie M. Smith, a nurturing and loving father of their children and very proud grandfather.