THE REVEREND DR. HORACE H. WADE, JR.             

The Reverend Dr. Horace H. Wade, Jr. was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on March 12, 1956 to the late Mr. and Mrs. Horace H. Wade, Sr.  He was educated in the public schools of Portsmouth and is a 1974 graduate of I. C. Norcom High School.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Journalism from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia in December 1978.  In May 1997, he received a Master of Divinity degree from the School of Theology of Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia.  Additionally, he received a certificate from the Institute for Church Administration and Management (ICAM) under the auspices of the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, Georgia and the School of Theology of Virginia Union University.  In May 2002, he was awarded the Doctor of Divinity from Richmond Virginia Seminary.

Reverend Wade accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior on February 27, 1977.  On March 29, 1983, he was licensed as a Baptist minister and ordained March 11, 1984 by the Sharon Missionary Baptist Association.

Reverend Wade has served as pastor of three churches in various settings.  From November 1984 to December 1988, he served as pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Drewryville, Virginia.  From January 1, 1989 to November 9, 1997, he served as pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Suffolk, Virginia.  Since November 16, 1997, he has served as pastor of First Union Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.  God has been blessing First Union through Pastor Wade.  New ministries have been started and maintained; established ministries have been enhanced.

Pastor Wade is very active in the community.  He is a member of the first graduating class of the Richmond Chaplain Police Academy (April 26, 2000).  He serves as Co-President of Richmonders Involved to Strengthen our Communities (RISC), a social justice organization.  He is a member of the Hampton University Ministers Conference.  He is also a member of several Baptist organizations.  They are as follows: The Baptist Ministers Conference of Richmond and Vicinity, The Tuckahoe Baptist Association of Virginia, The Baptist General Convention of Virginia, The Richmond Baptist Association, and The Baptist General Association of Virginia.

Pastor Wade is married to the former Sylvia Shoulders, an assistant principal at Clover Hill High School in the Chesterfield County School System.  They have two sons, Horace H. Wade, III, a graduate of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and David McKinley Wade, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.