The Reverend Anita Thompson has come full circle. Raised in the First Baptist Church of Ahoskie in northeast North Carolina, she has been on·e of the pastors there for the last twenty-two years. Through this search process Anita feels the call of God to break out of the circle and begin a new ministry,a new venture as the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Wadesboro .
Anita grew up a small town, Baptist girl. The middle child between two brothers, she is now the proud aunt to three nephews and one niece. She first felt the call of ministry through the music ministry at First Baptist Church, Ahoskie-a North Carolina town similar in size to Wadesboro . Like Wadesboro, FBC Ahoskie was known for its music ministry.
Rev. Thompson graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Music degree. She attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and received a Master in Church Music degree in 1989 . After serving Parkview Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana, she felt the call to broaden her ministry skills and began attending the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, she graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 1995. While in the Richmond area, she served Northside Baptist Church in Mechanicsville as Minister of Music.
In 1997 she was called to Woodhaven Baptist Church in Apex, where she served as the Associate Pastor with responsibilities for worship, music, and children’s ministry. She was called to her home church, First Baptist Church of Ahoskie, in 2002. Serving first as the Minister for Family Enrichment, Rev. Thompson directed the church’s ministries to children and youth and for spiritual formation .
Since 2010, she has served as the Associate Pastor and Minister of Music and Worship with a wide range of responsibilities-worship planning and leading, pastoral care, preaching, spiritual formation, music ministry,children’s ministry,and administration. Anita comes to us with a wealth of pastoral experience working in Baptist churches for the past 35 years.
Rev. Thompson has been active in Baptist life and in her local community. At Chowan University, she has served on its Ministerial Board of Associates since 2004 and is currently a board member for Chowan’s Christian Service Association. She served as a Steering Team Member for the Polyphony Fellowship of Pastoral Musicians, including one year as its chairperson. Twice, she has served on the board for Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina and is currently its co-convenor.
She has written worship resources for Faith Element, has served as the worship planner and leader for an Adult Spirituality Retreat for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) of North Carolina, and roughly ten years ago was the worship planner and leader for the pre-CBF national assembly retreat in Tampa, Florida and the following year the worship designer and leader at CBF’s national assembly in Fort Worth, Texas. She recently completed a three-year rotation as a member of the Coordinating Council for CBF of North Carolina.
Locally in Ahoskie, Anita has been a Rotary Club member and served on the board for the Hertford County Department of Social Services, including two years as chairperson. She has served on the Ahoskie Food Pantry Board and currently serves as the Second Vice President.
Anita lives with her two beloved rescue dogs, Carlton and Lucy. She is a pianist and vocalist . She’s an avid reader (owns an embarrassing number of books), enjoys the arts (theater, dance, music, art and cinema), sews and loves to explore antique, thrift, and consignment shops.
