Meet Our Pastor
Pastor Thomas E. and First Lady Karen R. Spencer
Senior Pastor of Lincoln Avenue Church of God
Rev. Thomas Eden Spencer is a native of Antigua, West Indies. He is the son of the late Rouse Melvin and Iola Spencer. The call to discipleship and pastoral ministry came to Thomas when he was 18 years old. He was nurtured in the faith by Reverends Monroe and Bernice Spencer, though he credits his mother's prayers as being the vital connection to "the call". His first assignments in ministry include singing in the choir, driving the church van and evangelistic outreach on the island of Antigua.
Rev. Spencer attended Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and Master of Arts in Religious Studies. While in Anderson, Indiana, he attended and served in ministry at Sherman Street Church of God under the pastorates of the late Dr. Clifton Morgan and Dr. Jethro Mosley.
Rev. Spencer's first Pastorate was at Bethesda Church of God in Antigua, West Indies, where he served as a "short-term" missionary pastor for six months.
Following graduation from Anderson School of Theology, Rev. Spencer assisted at the Northside Church of God for four years. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, he joined fellowship with the First Church of God, City of Refuge in Columbus, Ohio and served there for two years before receiving the call to pastor First Church of God in Junction City, Kansas. By invitation of Bishop Timothy J. Clarke, he returned to Columbus, Ohio to serve as the associate pastor for ten years.
Rev. Spencer is currently the senior Pastor of Lincoln Avenue Church of God in Pittsburgh, PA, where he has served since 2003.
Additionally, Pastor Spencer has served on numerous boards, including the Board of Directors for the Isabelle Ridgway House (Isabelle Ridgeway Care Center-Columbus, OH), on the Program Committee for the National Association of the Church of God, Central Ohio Credentials Committee and the Western Pennsylvania Credentials Committee.
Pastor Spencer is married to his wife of over 40 years, Karen Rose Jackson Spencer, a Chicago native.
