Dr. Blanton Harper, Jr. earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
He began his pastoral ministry at New Hope Baptist Church of Braddock, Pennsylvania, where the congregation experienced significant growth and established ministries serving youth, senior citizens, and the surrounding community.
In 1981, Dr. Harper was called to Cleveland’s Historic Liberty Hill Baptist Church. Under his leadership, the church expanded its local and global outreach, supported affordable housing and economic development initiatives, created arts and scholarship programs for young people, and grew into a congregation of thousands.
Led by a vision for church planting in southeast Greater Cleveland, Dr. Harper founded New Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church and continues to serve as its senior pastor.