Pastor Joe B. Fleming Pastor Joe B. Fleming began preaching over fifty years ago following his graduation from Holdenville High School in Holdenville, Oklahoma. After graduating from Bishop College, Dallas, Texas, he was inspired by Dr. John M. Ellison and Dr. A. B. James to enroll in the School of Theology of Virginia Union University. Since coming to Virginia Union in 1963, Pastor Fleming has served three churches over the past forty-seven years. He has served as senior pastor of the Third Baptist Church Portsmouth, Virginia for twenty-nine years. He continued his preparation for service to the Lord at the School of Religion at Boston University and the United Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. For more than forty years, Pastor Fleming has served as consultant/trainer for churches, agencies, corporations, and conventions both in the continental United States and abroad, as well as a board member and officer of The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Pastor Fleming has been the President of both the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Richmond and Vicinity and the Tidewater Metro Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Virginia. For several years, Pastor Fleming served as President of both the Henrico Virginia Chapter of the NAACP and the Portsmouth Virginia Chapter of the NAACP. For many years, he served on a multiple number of boards, namely: President of the Salvation Army of Portsmouth, the Red Cross of Southeastern Virginia and the Urban League of Hampton Roads. The former Governor of Virginia also appointed him to serve as a Commissioner of the Virginia Port Authority. Pastor Joe has recently concluded tenure as President of the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority and currently serves on the Portsmouth Electoral Board. He has also received Honorary Doctors Degrees from Virginia Union University, The Virginia College of Lynchburg, and Richmond Virginia Seminary. .