Church Leadership and Staff

Paul (Qing) Liu 刘清

Lead Pastor

qing.liu@oic-church.com

Pastor Paul (Qing Liu) is from Luoyang, Henan, China and came to faith in a house church in 1996. He came to the U.S. in 2000 and received a PhD in Psychology from Brown University in 2006. In 2013, he obtained a Certificate in Biblical Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity in Biblical Counseling at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also holds a medical license in the U.S. and taught/practiced medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School from 2011 to 2017.

Heeding God's call at the Chicago Gospel Conference in 2003, Pastor Paul served in Chinese churches in Cleveland and Pittsburgh for the next 15 years. In 2018, he was called to pastor at Lynchburg Chinese Christian Church. Under his leadership, the church has transitioned from a solely Chinese congregation to a Gospel-centered, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic community.

Alongside his pastoral duties, Pastor Paul continues to hold a part-time position in the medical field while also serving as a university instructor.. He has extensive experience in medicine, counseling, teaching, and pastoral care.

Pastor Paul and his wife Rachel Li were high school sweetheart, knowing each other for 30 years, and are blessed with three daughters and a son.

John Thompson

Executive Pastor

john.thompson@oic-church.com

Pastor John Thompson, born in Raleigh, NC in 1956, has devoted his life to serving various Baptist Churches and fostering growth within their communities. He is married to Lisa Shawn Rollins, and together they have three children, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter.

After studying Metallurgical Engineering at N.C. State University and receiving a Masters of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, he led multiple churches in Virginia, doubling attendance and initiating youth and community programs.

He founded Freedom Baptist Church in 2006 and remained its pastor until April 2023. Through FBC, he launched The Red Truck Ministry, a mobile grocery store that has provided over 1.1 million pounds of food to those in need.

Pastor John's passions extend to reading history, enjoying fantasy tales and westerns, and loving works by Christian authors like CS Lewis and N.T. Wright. He also enjoys gardening and playing golf.