Reverend Dr. Gregory L. Holmes is honored to serve as Pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church of New Bern, North Carolina.  He has been favoured by God and is exceedingly grateful and humbled to serve a church with such a rich historical heritage.

Pastor Holmes is the eldest of three sons of the late Bishop Leroy Holmes and Evangelist  Doris Holmes. He is a native of Union County, New Jersey where he attended public schools.  Pastor Holmes and his wife First Lady Sheila (Lewis) Holmes have been married for over 30 years and are proud to be blessed with three lovely daughters.

Pastor Holmes has the true heart of a pastor and has dedicated his life to the ministry as a humble servant of the Kingdom of God, teaching the uncompromising Word of God to the people of God.  He believes that “Everybody is somebody in God’s house”.

Since planting his roots in New Bern, his commitment to social justice and equality have already made an impact, and he has been instrumental in connecting community leaders and residents to address and resolve humanitarian issues.  Pastor Holmes barely had time to get acclimated to his new church home, before the pandemic struck.  "We just dug right in as soon as we saw the need and immediately worked to give out food baskets".  He then searched out a federal program that allowed him to continue to make a difference.  "We gave out close to 1500 food baskets and $800,000 in financial support to families who were affected by COVID".

Pastor Holmes has served as Associate Minister at Hooks Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Pikeville, NC, with Pastor and former Moderator Harold Warren, and as Associate Minister at Greenleaf Christian Church, Goldsboro, NC with Pastor William Barber.  He has also served as Pastor of New Vision Baptist Church for over 7 years. 

Pastor Holmes is the Vice President of the Ministerial Alliance, he has received the 52 Faces Community Award presented by the Sun Journal, Citizens Award presented by Vision Forward, President's Award for Outstanding Services presented by NAACP and he serves on the Homeless Committee established by New Bern Police Department.  In addition, he is a member of the Rotary Club and also the Masonic Lodge.

Pastor Holmes formerly served as Chaplain of the Goldsboro Fire Department.  He is a lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and has served on the Executive Committee as Chair of the Legal Redress committee where he successfully advocated for local civil rights.  Pastor Holmes works with the Poor People’s Campaign, a national rekindling of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for social justice, and also Repairers of the Breach, the advancement of moral public policy for a more just society for all people.

Pastor Holmes has been a longtime community activist and religious leader.  Prior to re-locating to North Carolina, he has worked with the Community Network in Union County, NJ where he counseled with and provided support for inmates and their families transitioning from incarceration through adapting to life after confinement.  He assisted with providing housing, furniture and meals for ex-offenders, their families and senior citizens.  He also worked with the African-American Leadership Coalition where he mediated legal resolutions for reported civil rights violations. 

In his professional career, Pastor Holmes has worked as Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Medical Technology schools for over 15 years and also as Senior Youth Counselor and Supervisor of displaced children homes.  He has coached boys basketball at the high school level and as Assistant Coach at the college level.  His community service and professional experience has afforded him the opportunity to help young people plan a pathway to be successful  by developing a mentorship that connected young adults with hands-on training and job skill programs.  "Seeing others grow and progress is extremely rewarding".

Pastor Holmes holds a Bachelor of Theology and Psychology, Master of Divinity and Doctorate from Canon Bible College and Seminary, and Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity Bible College.  He has completed extensive studies in Religion and Psychology at Mount Olive University, and Continuing Education Programs at Duke Divinity School and Shaw Divinity School.

Pastor Holmes is excited about what God has planned for his people!