MINISTERIAL STAFF
Dr. Larry Harper
Dr. Larry Harper is a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and attended Clemson University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a jumpmaster and later resigned his commission to enter the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he received both a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been in the ministry for over 20 years, serving: the Eutaw Heights Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina; the Antioch Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; the Homestead Heights Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina; and, the Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dr. Harper has been the Senior Pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church since 1994, dedicating himself to the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures for timely application to daily living.
Dr. Harper enjoys history, the arts, golf, weight lifting, drawing, and painting. He and his wife have two grown children.
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Tom Beam
Tom Beam is a native of Shelby, North Carolina. Tom obtained his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University, majoring in Recreation Program Management. While in college, Tom answered the call to ministry. After graduating from Appalachian, Tom attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, receiving a Master of Divinity in Christian Education degree.
While Tom was in college he worked 3 summers as a summer missionary at Camp Caraway in Asheboro, NC. During Tom's senior year in college and while in Seminary, he worked in churches as youth minister. While serving at a church in Brandenburg, KY as youth minister, Tom felt that ministry to youth was where God was calling him to serve. Upon graduation from Southern Seminary, Tom became Minister to Students at First Baptist Church, Hickory, NC and then Minister of Youth and Children at Boiling Springs Baptist Church in Boiling Springs, NC. In 1999 Tom moved to Raleigh, to work for North Carolina Baptist Men of the Baptist State Convention of NC. His direct responsibilities were missions education for boys and director of Camp Caraway. Tom moved to Forest Hills in January 2008.
Tom's vision for the youth of Forest Hills is to develop and maintain a well-rounded youth program, aimed at assisting young people where they find themselves in their life, in this world, and in God’s will and plan for their lives.
Tom enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time outdoors. He and his wife, Faithe, have one child, Patrick.
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Jerry Chiles
Jerry Chiles was born and grew up near Falmouth, Kentucky, in a rural setting. It was the people in this setting that taught him to love God and persons. These same persons encouraged him to be open to God calling him into the work of the church.
With the passing of time and with additional education, Jerry understood more specifically what God wanted him to do. While in college and in seminary, he worked part-time in churches in the areas of music and youth. These experiences and the leading of God's Spirit directed him to enter Youth Ministry. Ten years later, serving in his third church, he began to feel the call of God into Adult Education. Though difficult to understand at the time, God had been preparing Jerry all along the way for this venue of ministry. He served in two positions in Adult Education over 16 years before moving to Forest Hills Baptist Church in April of 1996 as the Associate Pastor of Adults.
Jerry's vision for the adults of Forest Hills is for them to begin a process of maturation in the Faith, to become productive servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and to do it all with love.
In his spare time, you may find Jerry on the racquetball, tennis, or basketball courts, or in his shop repairing or refinishing antiques. He also enjoys singing.
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Davis E. "Dee" Froeber
Davis E. "Dee" Froeber has been Associate Pastor to Internationals at Forest Hills Baptist Church since 1981. Dee, a native of Winston-Salem and Goldsboro, North Carolina, did his undergraduate study at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, majoring in religion. His focus at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he earned a Master of Divinity with Languages degree, was in comparative religion, missions and intercultural communication. He has done post-graduate study in intercultural communication at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon and at the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research Foundation for Intercultural Communication in Washington, DC. He has also devoted himself to post-graduate language study in Chinese at North Carolina State University.
Dee maintains membership and involvement in several professional organizations related to international educational exchange including NAFSA: Association of International Educators; the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research; and, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. He is past-chair of the North Carolina Association of International Educators and has served as an advisor on the board of directors of the Triangle-based Chinese American Friendship Association.
Dee oversees the Ministry to Internationals which includes English as a Second Language classes, three language missions (African, Farsi, and Chinese), native language classes for international children, and a number of other activities of interest to area internationals.
Dee is married and has three children. His personal interests include spending time with his family, guitar, water-skiing, fishing, and anything that has to do with relationships across cultures.
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Asad Hashemi
Asad Hashemi graduated from Tehran University in Iran with a Ph.D. in Psychology and worked as a family counselor. After coming to the United States and converting to Christianity, Asad graduated from Heritage Bible College in Dunn, North Carolina. Prior to coming to Forest Hills, Asad worked with the International Ministry at Northhaven Church in Raleigh. He served on the mission board of PFWB churches.
He and his wife Pat have 3 daughters, Tracy, Leila and Sahra.
Asad enjoys traveling, swimming, backgammon and being with the Iranian people. He enjoys history and learning about different cultures. Asad joined the langauge ministry staff of Forest Hills in April of 2000.
Asad is Minister to Farsi Speakers with responsibilities for leading Forest Hills' Farsi Speakers Fellowship. This fellowship holds weekly worship services, Bible studies, and gatherings for Farsi-speaking Senior citizens as well as reaching out to refugees in the area.
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'Yinka Jolaoso
'Yinka Jolaoso is originally from Nigeria and is fluent in Yoruba and English. He and his wife have three children.
'Yinka received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Church Music and Religion from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He then pursued his education at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, receiving both a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Theology degree.
Between 1974 and 1982, 'Yinka served as Youth Minister and Minister of Music at Orita-Mefa Baptist Church in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was the Bookkeeper for the Baptist Mission of Nigeria. His family became members of Forest Hills Baptist Church in November of 1985, and, at the invitation of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, 'Yinka started the African Ministry in October of 1987. He became Minister to Africans and Pastor of the First African Baptist Mission Church officially in May of 1989.
'Yinka's vision for ministry is to develop the African Church into a self-supporting church with a strong African Church Music Ministry. He also wishes to incorporate a mission department within the African Church that supports many projects in Africa as well as sponsors many mission churches throughout North Carolina.
'Yinka enjoys speaking to school and church groups about African culture and his work in the United States. He is an amateur photographer.
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Allison Lairmore
Allison Lairmore was called to ministry in 1995. After graduating from North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina, she was called by Forest Hills to become Associate Pastor of Children and Families. Since beginning her ministry in 1999, Allison has found great joy and satisfaction in seeing boys and girls grow in their knowledge and understanding of God's plan for their lives.
Allison's vision for ministry to boys and girls is twofold: first, to build relationships with children and parents in order to help them experience God's love and second, to create an environment where boys and girls can grow, learn, and develop as God intends. Her philosophy of ministry is based on the knowledge that God loves all people and wants all people to know Him. Her ministry reflects the desire of bringing people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
Allison and her husband, Harl, have three children. Robert lives in Philadelphia, PA, Elizabeth lives in Myrtle Beach, SC, and Thomas is a high school student living in the home.
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Jane C. Pan and Robert Pan
Reverend Robert Pan graduated from North CarolinaStateUniversity in Electrical Engineering and worked for IBM as senior design engineer for 29 years before going into full time ministry as founder and co-pastor of ChineseBaptistChurch (CBC). He is currently enrolled in CampbellDivinitySchool to further his ministry enrichment.
Dr. Jane C. Pan graduated from Southeastern Seminary at Wake Forest, NC with a doctorate degree specializing in ''Marriage and Family Enrichment.'' She with her husband Reverend Robert Pan is co-founder and co-pastor of ChineseBaptistChurch in Raleigh. She has twenty years of counseling experience and is fluent in three languages (Chinese, English, and Japanese.) She engages as workshop speaker for Marriage Enrichment both here in the United States and overseas. Together they are proud grandparents to two grandsons and one granddaughter.
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Alta Whitt
Alta is a Raleigh native and lifelong member of Forest Hills Baptist Church.
Alta was the first baby born after the completion of the L Bun Olive Chapel in 1954, and she has been involved in numerous ministries of the church ever since. She has served as a deacon, as a Sunday School teacher of various ages, on a number of committees, and was the Director of GA's for 13 years. Most recently she has been committed to 6th grade ministry through which CROSSOVER was developed and implemented.
Alta left a 20 year career in business and answered a call to enter vocational Christian ministry - a call that led her to theological study at Campbell University. She graduated from The Divinity School at Campbell with a dual concentration in Pastoral Ministries and Christian Education. With three daughters of her own, this Masters of Divinity degree blends perfectly with her life experience and a previous master's degree in counseling and student development, to answer the call to ministry with the college students at Forest Hills.
Alta describes the opportunity as "a perfect fit." "As Associate Pastor to College Ministry I have found an ideal place that allows me to use my spiritual gifts to help build up the body of Christ through ministries of teaching and spiritual formation development."
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Doug Thompson
Doug Thompson is a North Carolina foothills boy who grew up in Lenoir, North Carolina. From earliest childhood the church community was the prominent part of his upbringing and he began to understand the importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. During a revival he accepted Jesus into his heart and began his walk with Christ.
Now, this walk was to take him places he never dreamed of. After completing high school he started college at Mars Hill College concentrating in music. But after the first year he struggled with having any knowledge of what he really wanted to do. After finishing a second year of college at a community college he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. Three years later he returned home and attended Appalachian State University intending to be a Physical Education teacher – but upon graduation he was offered a commission back into the Army. For 6 more years he served in the military. All the while God was working and shaping him for something more important. In 1987 he resigned his commission and enrolled in seminary and returned to the music field. In 1988 he was called as a Minister of Music and Youth. He then served for the next 19 years in several churches as Minister of Music before coming to Forest Hills Baptist.
Doug’s vision for Music at Forest Hills is that it be all about ministry. It is not our goal to just be exceptional musicians, but exceptional Christians who share Christ through the medium of music.
Doug enjoys fishing, riding his motorcycle and working outdoors.
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