John Sloop

Dr. John Fields Sloop was born to missionary parents in Brazil, S.A. where he still holds dual citizenship. He came to the States at the age of 16 to finish high school at Ben Lippen School in Asheville, NC.

After graduating from Belhaven University in Jackson MS in 1970, he enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, MA.  Dr. Sloop completed his Masters in Theology in 1973 at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. In 1983, John earned his Doctorate in Theology, also from Columbia. He has also studied at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.
   
Dr. Sloop served the Lithonia Presbyterian Church in the suburbs of Atlanta for 14 years before accepting the call to become Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church on Court Square in Harrisonburg, VA. He served FPC for 27 years, retiring in 2013. He has served the wider community through United Way, Rotary, Young LIfe and the Harrisonburg City GOP. For many years Dr. Sloop was part of the leadership of the Valley Family Forum, hosting the radio program, Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet.
 
In retirement, Dr. Sloop has been on mission trips to Ethiopia and China and filled the pulpits of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Brethren and Mennonite congregations.
 
John's paternal 6th great-grandfather, Conrad Schlupp served in the Revolutionary War in the German Fusiliers, and his maternal 6th great-grandfather, Col. William Candler, served under George Washington at the Battle of King's Mountain.
​
Dr. Sloop is the father of 3 married children, 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson! 

---