Rev. Dr. Joe A. Harding: Biographical Sketch

Joe was born in Kennett, Missouri on July 8, 1929, the eldest of two sons born to Andrew Farris Harding of Hickman, Kentucky and Elsie Jeanette Harper of Roanoke, Virginia. He grew up working in his father’s grocery store where he said he learned to relate to many kinds of people. While young he attended both old Southern style revival meetings and the Methodist church and felt called to be a preacher at an early age. In his senior year of high school he won the Jurisdictional Methodist Youth Public Speaking Contest, and was awarded a full scholarship to any Methodist college.

In the fall of 1947 Joe enrolled in Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. While still an 18 year old freshman he was recruited to be a pastor of a small church in Bowling Green, Missouri, where he served for almost two years. For his junior and senior years he attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. At Emory University he was elected president of Delta Tau Delta, selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and was elected Student Body President of the Chandler School of Theology. After his undergraduate work he went on to earn a Master’s Degree, Cum Laude, at Boston University School of Theology. Throughout his college and university years Joe attended churches of many denominations – Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. – which were influential in shaping his inclusive view of Christianity.

In 1954 Joe married Lucy Miller Walkup and moved to Salem Oregon to organize a new church – Trinity United Methodist Church in Four Corners. While living in Salem he had four children and the church grew to become one of the largest in the Oregon-Idaho Conference. In 1962 he was appointed pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Yakima, Washington, which also grew under his leadership. From 1965 to 1969 he was appointed Seattle District Superintendent for the Methodist church where he helped in the establishment of several ethnic congregations and helped launch FOCUS (Fellowship Of Christian Urban Service) to assist people in need.

In 1969 he was appointed senior pastor of Central United Protestant Church, in Richland, Washington where he continued to serve until 1985. During this period the church added the McVicker education wing and a new Fellowship Hall, and worship attendance grew from an average of 500 to approximately 1200 per week, with a total membership of over 2000 people. The remarkable growth of Central Church received nation wide attention and has been featured in numerous articles and several films. During this period Joe also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree through a distance learning program from the San Francisco Theological Seminary and wrote a dissertation on Dr Thomas Gordon’s Parent Effectiveness Training as a resource for ministry. In 1982 he wrote his first book: Have I told you lately…? Preaching to Help People and Churches Grow.

During his 16 years at CUP Church Joe continued to develop his dynamic style of preaching. He combined the knowledge of a cultural historian and the craft of a skilled story teller with an insightful, enthusiastic, optimistic, inclusive vision of Christianity. His inspirational style brought vitality to the church resulting in tremendous growth, not only in membership but in community outreach and missions. He developed an innovative radio and television ministry, reaching 50,000 persons daily with brief messages of Christian affirmation and hope. His radio spots were selected by for use on the Armed Forces Network and for broadcast in 1200 radio stations in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. He also became involved in mission projects to Fiji, Korea and Kenya. The Kenya mission was particularly important to him. He helped start the Kenyan Methodist University and build a multipurpose church, school, and community center among the Maasi people who made him an honorary Elder.

While recovering from a stroke in 1985 he came up with the idea for “VISION 2000,” an inspirational program for revitalizing the Methodist Church, and from 1986 to 1996 he served as Director of Evangelism and Church Growth with the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN. There he wrote Growth Plus: The Vision, and co-authored Vision 2000: Planning for Ministry in the Next Century. In 1996 he retired from the Board but continued traveling and speaking as a “Vision Consultant,” and was named Distinguished Evangelist by the Foundation for Evangelism. In 2004 Boston University School of Theology honored him with a Distinguished Alumni award.

In September of 1996 he married Carol Jensen and moved to Corvallis, OR. When Joe developed Alzheimer’s he eventually moved into Lydia House, an Alzheimer’s care unit at Mennonite Village in Albany, OR, where his wife Carol works as Human Resources Director.