Raised by a farmer with a strong sense of discipline and old-fashioned Christian family values, Samuel H. Smith, Sr. was the sixth of eight children born to Wallace and Jimmie Smith of Alto, Texas. The family later moved to Houston in the mid 30’s where Samuel attended Houston public schools, completing his education in 1948 while serving active duty in the United States Army. During his military tour from 1947 through 1954, he married Silver Thompson of Houston; the two have been married for sixty years. Samuel H. Smith, Sr. is a father, grandfather, great grandfather, and a loving husband. He received Christ at the age of 22 and answered the call to the ministry at the youthful age of 27 in October of 1957. He was led to Pastor the Morning Star Baptist Church of Houston, Texas in 1959 and later became the Pastor of Mount Horeb Missionary Baptist Church in 1964 where he has remained God’s servant for 49 years.

Dr. Smith, Sr. earned his Doctorate of Divinity from Interfaith Seminary in Houston, Texas, his Master of Theology from Christian Bible College in Kenner, Louisiana, and his Bachelor of Theology from Union Baptist Seminary in Houston, Texas.A Korean War veteran, he presently is Chairman of the Evangelical Board of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Gregory Lincoln Educational Center’s “I Have A Dream”, a national instructor for the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, a member of Houston’s Baptist Ministers’ Alliance, Houston Baptist Pastors and Ministers Fellowship and Ministers Against Crime; president of the Coalition of Pastoral Leaders of Fourth Ward Freedmen’s Town and a member of the 4th Ward TIRZ Board. He is the author of “Taking IT to the Streets” a book on Christian Evangelism that emphasizes the importance of street evangelism in the Christian Outreach ministry.

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Exodus 3:1-2