Our Founder - Bishop Eric J. Freeman

Leadership

Bishop Eric J. Freeman, PhD, is a pastor, community advocate, and social impact strategist who serves as a bishop within the Christian Covenant Fellowship of Ministries (CCFM). He is the founding Senior Pastor of The Meeting Place Church of Greater Columbia, where he has faithfully led since its inception. Under his leadership, the church has grown into a 23-acre, 215,000-square-foot campus that includes a banquet and conference center, dialysis clinic, the NAACP South Carolina State Conference headquarters, and an eight-screen cineplex.

In addition to his pastoral calling, Bishop Freeman is the visionary behind TMPC Nonprofit Holdings, Inc. and New Capernaum Life Services, which have directed tens of millions of dollars toward transforming underutilized spaces into centers of community renewal. These initiatives have secured more than $7.5 million in grants and investments to support workforce training, health equity, food access, and empowerment programs throughout the Midlands of South Carolina.

He earned a B.S. in Financial Management from the University of Florida, an M.A. in Religion and Theological Ethics from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Homiletics with a concentration in Social Ethics from the Clamp Divinity School at Anderson University. His scholarship centers on the inseparability of biblical theology and societal engagement, forming the foundation for his preaching and public ministry. He is currently a candidate for an Ed.M. in International Education Policy and Management at Harvard University and has also completed executive studies at Cornell University.

In 2023, Bishop Freeman was named Humanitarian of the Year by the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP in recognition of his decades-long commitment to justice, education, and community development. A Diamond Life Member of the NAACP and a Life Member and past executive board member of the South Carolina District of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., he is a trusted voice to civic and faith-based organizations on matters of social impact, policy, and spiritual leadership.

Bishop Freeman and his wife, Coleen, reside in Elgin, South Carolina, and are the proud parents of two adult children.

Staff