About Pastor Thompson

Dr. Larry L. Thompson has been senior pastor at the 12,000-member First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale since August 1994. He had previously served as pastor at Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, First Baptist Church in Merritt Island, First Baptist Church in Chickasha, First Liberty Baptist Church in Tulsa, and First Baptist Church in Hobart, Oklahoma. Pastor Thompson and his wife, Cynthia, have two daughters: Taylor Royle (who attended Columbia University and Wheaton College) and Jennifer Jones (who received her master’s degree from Regent University). The Thompsons also have one grandson, Ashley Armstrong Jones.

Thompson’s innovative methods feature a team approach to ministry which leads members in discovering their personal gifts, talents and passions to increase their effectiveness in helping others. With a background in theater and drama, he is known as a dynamic, personable, practical communicator.

In 2006, Pastor Thompson and First Baptist Church received the Silver Medallion award from the National Conference on Community and Justice, in recognition of the church's commitment to an integrated approach to multicultural community.

He co-authored a Christmas drama called Dickens’ Christmas Journey. More than three dozen churches have performed the original script. As author of the Watchman Prayer Ministry, Thompson has been featured on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast. The Watchman Prayer Ministry is an intercessory prayer program being used in more than 2,000 churches, a national prayer strategy which connects thousands of Christians in round-the-clock prayer. Thompson also developed the POP Strategy for evangelistic outreach and wrote the accompanying booklet, “The Path.”

He received an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Mobile for his efforts on behalf of international education and another from the California Graduate School of Theology for his work in church growth. He also received a Master of Arts in Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary. Thompson has served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Mobile, Oklahoma Baptist University and Cornerstone University. He was chairman of the board for the Little Lighthouse, a nonprofit school for the physically limited recognized by President George Bush with a “Thousand Points of Light” commendation.