Paul Francis Lanier was born into a family of Ministry. Though his great-grandparents came from the Methodist tradition, his grandparents on both sides of the family pastored in the Church of God. His parents pastored faithfully throughout North Carolina and West Virginia. Uncles, cousins, as well as all his siblings, are in full-time Christian Ministry.


Dr. Lanier earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in Music from East Coast Bible College, and the Master of Science Degree in Pastoral Ministries from the Church of God School of Theology. Both are institutions in the Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition.

Bishop then attended two Presbyterian schools: Columbia Theological Seminary
and Erskine Theology Seminary, where he received the Doctor of Ministry Degree.
He completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at North Carolina Baptist Hospital.

Most recently, Bishop studied Wesleyan Theology at Duke University, a Methodist institution, and earned a Master of Theology in Christian Spirituality from Sydney College of Divinity/Centre for Christian Spirituality, a Catholic institution.

In 1990, Bishop Lanier and his wife, Debbie, founded Hope Community Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is an author, composer, and each year Bishop and Pastor Debbie speak to thousands of business people throughout the United States and beyond.


In 1997, Dr. Lanier was consecrated to the office of Bishop in the International Communion of Charismatic Churches. He serves presently as a member of the College of Bishops.

Bishop Lanier has been married to Debbie since 1983, and they are the proud parents of two children: Kaylyn Hope and Paul Francis V.