Bishop Marvin Frank Thomas, Sr. was elected the 62nd bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on July 1, 2014, at the 37th Quadrennial Session & 38thGeneral Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to his election as bishop, he served as the seventh president/dean of The Phillips School of Theology ("The Seminary of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church") at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and the pastor of the Good News Community CME Church in Lithonia, GA. While at the ITC, Bishop Thomas also served as the Chair of the Council of Deans and an adjunct instructor.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history with a minor in sociology from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He also earned the Master of Divinity degree from The Phillips School of Theology at The ITC and the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

He has served as the pastor of Walls Memorial CME Church in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to his tenure as pastor of Walls Memorial, he served as pastor of other congregations in the CME Church and presiding elder in the states of Alabama and Tennessee. Bishop Thomas previously served as the Vice President of Student Affairs, and faculty member in the Department of Religion at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He returned to Stillman College, his alma mater, as a staff member in the Department of Student Services and as a faculty member in the Department of Religion.

Presently, Bishop Thomas serves as the presiding bishop of the Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, which includes the Kentucky and Ohio Central Indiana Regions. He also serves as the chair of the denomination'sDepartment of Lay Ministry and is the pastor of the Metropolitan CME Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the immediate past chair of the College of Bishops of the CME Church. Additionally, Bishop Thomas serves on the boards of the following institutions: Lane College, Phillips School of Theology (vice-chair), The Interdenominational Theological Center, the Ohio Council of Churches (president), and the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. Bishop Thomas is a Life Member of the NAACP, member of the National Board of Directors for the NAACP, and member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Incorporated.

Bishop Thomas is a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He is the second of six children born to the late Mrs. Minnie Thomas Brown. Bishop Thomas has two adult children, Kourtney Lea Thomas and Marvin Frank Thomas, Jr., and one grandson, Kameron.