Jerry D. Porter is a minister and general superintendent

General Superintendent (Church of the Nazarene)

General Superintendent is the highest elected office within the Church of the Nazarene. General Superintendents are elected by the General Assembly of the denomination for a four year term to expire at the end of the next General Assembly....

 in the Church of the Nazarene

Church of the Nazarene

The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...

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Education

Porter graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion. In the summer of 1972 he received a Master of Arts in theology degree.

Ministry

Porter's first pastorate was in Angleton, Texas

Angleton, Texas

Angleton is a city in and the county seat of Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Angleton lies at the intersection of State Highway 288, State Highway 35, and the Union Pacific Railroad. The population was 18,130 at the 2000 census...

 and he was ordained in 1974 on the Houston District Church of the Nazarene by General Superintendent Charles H. Strickland

Charles H. Strickland

Charles H. Strickland was a minister, missionary, college president, author, and general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene....

. After two and a half years in Angleton Porter was appointed to be a missionary to the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

 to start the Nazarene work in that country. He was next assigned to San José, Costa Rica

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

, where he was rector of the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas.

Porter was elected by the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene to be the regional director for the Church of the Nazarene in the Mexico/Central America Region in 1986, which includes eight nations from Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

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In 1992, while his daughter Amy was receiving treatment for cancer in Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, he was elected by the Mid-Atlantic District to be the third district superintendent. During this time he also served on the Board of Trustees of Eastern Nazarene College

Eastern Nazarene College

The Eastern Nazarene College is a private, coeducational college of the liberal arts and sciences in Quincy, Massachusetts near Boston, in the New England region of the United States. Known for its strong religious affiliation, distinctive liberal arts core curriculum, and excellence in science...

 and Nazarene Theological Seminary

Nazarene Theological Seminary

Nazarene Theological Seminary is a Christian seminary affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene. It is located in Kansas City, Missouri, which was formerly also the location of the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene...

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Porter was elected to be General Superintendent at the 24th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, in June 1997.