Bishop Thomas Arthur Clark, IV was born on August 9, 1971 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Bishop Dr. Thomas A. Clark, Jr. and Elder Patricia O. Clark. In 1985, he graduated from Mars Hill School in Chicago as valedictorian of his eighth grade class. Thomas then attended and subsequently graduated from Chicago’s prestigious Albert G. Lane Technical High School. He accepted the call of God to preach the Gospel in August of 1988, while a member of Faith Deliverance Christian Center in Chicago, under his father’s pastorate.
In
1994, upon earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Advertising from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Thomas returned to Chicago and
became very active in the youth ministry of the church. He was appointed as
Youth Pastor in April, 1995. He has
attended numerous classes, seminars and workshops on Christian Education,
Church Development, and Leadership Development, to name a few. Through his
studies, Thomas has earned various certificates of completion as well as a
Christian Education Diploma. Additionally, upon graduating from college in
1994, he accepted a position in Account Management at Leo Burnett USA. In 1996,
he moved into the Legal Department of the agency. In 2007, Thomas was promoted
to the Legal Department position of Advertising Director of Commercial
Clearance. On July 25, 2019, Thomas will celebrate 25 years with this renowned
company.
In
February of 1998, Thomas was released to organize the first church he pastored:
Light of the World International. He served there until December, 2010. He was duly consecrated as a Bishop in 2004 while in the
Fellowship of Independent Churches and Global Ministries, Inc., where he served
as North Regional Bishop. In January of 2006, he, along with his father and
Bishop Sharon Garner, organized The Fellowship of Kingdom Builders where he
served as the First-Vice Presiding Bishop.
Thomas is currently the proud pastor
of World Deliverance Christian Center of Bellwood, IL, which God led him and his
father to organize in January of 2011, upon the merger of the churches they
were respectively pastoring. In 2012, The Fellowship of Kingdom Builders became
part of Faith
Tabernacle Outreach Ministries (FTOM) under the leadership of Bishop Dr.
Herbert Bright of Plainfield, NJ. In May of 2017,
Thomas was appointed as First-Vice Presiding Bishop of FTOM.
Thomas preaches and teaches with power and simplicity. His goal is to help ensure that the churched, as well as the unchurched, youth and older adults are able to receive the message God has specifically for them. He wants everyone to have an opportunity to live a Holy Spirit-filled life, without limitations. This has led to speaking opportunities throughout the United States, the Dominican Republic, and multiple locations in South Africa. He believes that the Gospel forces a conflict and often says: “Every time we have an encounter with Jesus, we must make a decision. We will either decide for Him or against Him, but we will make a decision.” His first book, titled: Bloom Where God Has Planted You – It’s Time To Fulfill Your God-given Purpose was published in 2015, and is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.
He is married to Lady Felicia Clark. They have a total of three children: Darius, Kyle and Nalisha Simone, and one very curious grandson, Darius, Jr. (aka DJ). Thomas operates in the Gifts of the Spirit and is a true pastor, teacher.