James S. Hall Jr. was born in Marion, South Carolina, the son of a preacher James S. Hall Sr. and homemaker mother Eliza Thompson Hall. At an early age he realized that God had a special call on his life. The youngest of four children, (three sisters, one sister Dorothy Hall Canady survives), he recognized by age 9 that he was anointed to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ and by age 18 publicly surrendered to God. From that time forward, his spiritual life has been a journey of struggles, successes and an every growing faith in the Lord. Pastor Hall attended elementary and high school in Marion County, S. C. after which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Bachelor of Divinity degree in Theology at Morris College in Sumter, S.C. In high school, He was President of the NFA (New Farmers of America), as well as President of the Marion County High School Council. He is the recipient of honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Morris College, Fuller Normal School Greenville, S.C. and A.M.E. Seminary Monrovia, West Africa. He also attended special training at Temple University in Group Dynamics and Psychology. During his sixty-six years of preaching he has been greatly blessed serving as Pastor of Mount Rona Baptist Church Florence S.C. (1953-1957), Rafting Creek Baptist Church Sumter, S.C. (1953-1957), and Springfield Baptist Church Greenville, S.C. (1957-1963). He also was Pastor of Morris Chapel Baptist Church Philadelphia, PA (1963-1969).

In November 1969, Triumph Baptist Church was organized with sixty-three members at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. From that time, God has continued to honor the prayers of those Charter Members. As a result of his leadership and their faithfulness, Triumph Baptist Church has experienced tremendous growth in the study of God’s word, evangelistic outreach and economic empowerment. More than 5000 souls have been saved. Economically the church has impacted the community with the Credit Union, provided residential housing and a supermarket. Plans are underway for the development for Senior Housing and Family Life Center. During his spiritual pilgrimage, God has richly blessed Pastor with a loving family and congregation. He is the proud parent of four children; two daughters, Cathy and Wanda and two sons, James Anthony and Phillip. He also is the proud grandfather of three grandsons, four granddaughters and one great-granddaughter. Pastor s oldest daughter The Reverend Cathy Johnson serves as Assistant Pastor at Triumph Baptist Church and youngest son The Reverend Philip Hall serves as Pastor of Love Missionary Baptist Church of Philadelphia.

Pastor Hall has a long history of community involvement stemming back to his active participation in the Civil rights Movement. While pastoring in South Carolina, he served as President of Local PUSH, Vice President of South Carolina State Education and Missionary Convention, Vice President of South Carolina State NAACP, and local President of CORE Greenville, S.C. After moving to Philadelphia he was President of Little Neighborhood Schools, Treasure of Wade Cable Company, President of the Baptist Minister’s Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity and Moderator of the Eastern Keystone Baptist Association, Vice President and President of the Pennsylvania Baptist Convention. Currently he serves as CEO of Triumph Development Community Corporation and President of Victory Village. He has been the recipient of numerous awards most recently the Unity Global Award and Legend of Civil Rights Award. Pastor Hall’s testimony is simple yet special, to serve the Lord with all his strength and all his might.

Pastor looks to the future with great hope and expectation as the Lord moves he and his congregation from Victory to Victory. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.-1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Reverend James S. Hall Jr. was born in 1932, in Marion, S.C. to Reverend James S. Hall Sr. and Mrs. Eliza Hall. Hall attended primary school in Marion and then earned a B.S. in Education and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Morris College in Sumter, S.C. He received honorary degrees from Morris College, Fuller Normal School in Greenville, S.C., A.M.E. Seminary in Monrovia, West Africa, and studied Pastoral Psychology at Temple University.

Throughout Hall’s career, he has been a resolute advocate for civil rights and the voiceless. In high school, he organized a boycott against a major bread company after a deliveryman struck a black female storekeeper for complaining about delivery of stale bread. While at Morris College, he was removed from his radio broadcast and threatened when he spoke out against racism and segregation.

In October 1959, Jackie Robinson, the famed baseball player, was a keynote speaker for the South Carolina NAACP annual conference in Greenville. When Robinson prepared to depart the Greenville Municipal Airport, Rev. Hall, Mrs. Hall, and others accompanied him. While waiting in the main airport lounge, the group was told to move to the colored section. They refused, which culminated with Hall organizing the first march on the Greenville Municipal Airport in January 1960. In subsequent sit-ins in Greenville and throughout the South, organizers were jailed for civil rights advocacy.

Before organizing the Triumph Baptist Church of Philadelphia in 1969, Hall pastored Mount Rona Baptist Church (Florence, S.C.), Rafting Creek Baptist Church (Sumter, S.C.), Springfield Baptist Church (Greenville, S.C.) and Morris Chapel Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa.

Reverend Hall has served as Vice President of the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina, and the S.C. NAACP and as President of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Greenville, Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), the Baptist Minister’s Conference, and the Pennsylvania Baptist Convention. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Morris College.

As senior advisor to lawmakers representing Pennsylvania, Hall continues to give voice to the voiceless within his community. Awards presented to Hall include the Unity Global PUSH Legend of Civil Rights, South Carolina Shining Star Award from the South Carolina E&M Baptist State Convention, and the Legacy in Social Justice Award from Rainbow Push. In 2019, the Rev. Dr. James S. Hall Jr. Lecture Series in Philadelphia was named in his honor.