Joe B. Hopper (1921-1992)
Joseph B. Hopper was born on May 17, 1921 in Kwangju, Korea. He was raised by his missionary parents in Korea. He entered Davidson College in North Carolina in 1938, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1942; he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In the Fall of 1939, he was received under care as a candidate for ministry of the Concord Presbytery of the Southern Presbyterian Church.
Joe matriculated to Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA where he earned his Bachelors of Divinity in 1945. He would later earn his ThM at Union (1950) and a Doctor of Divinity from Davidson College (1965).
On July 19, 1945, Joe married Dorothy “Dot” Longenecker, whom he met at Collegiate Home in Montreat, NC. He was ordained by the Montgomery Presbytery of the PCUS on August 12 of that same year. After a brief pastorate (1945–1947) in at Blackwater and Piedmont Presbyterian Churches in Callaway, Virginia, Joe and Dot served as Presbyterian missionaries under the Board of World Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., in South Korea for 38 years before retiring to Montreat, NC in 1986. Joe died on April 27, 1992.
You can read Joe’s memoir about his life at ulsterworldly.com/hoppers/joe-b/mission-to-korea/.
More Posts About Joe B. Hopper
Christmas for Korean Orphans in 1955
Joe B. Hopper describes a Christmas celebration for Korean orphans thrown by missionaries
Read MoreOral Histoy of Childhood on the Mission Field in Korea
My dad and his siblings discuss their upbringing in Korea, boarding school, furlough, and college life as MKs.
Read MoreBilly Graham Remembers Joe B. Hopper
Letter from Billy Graham on the occasion of the death of Joe B. Hopper
Read MoreJoe B. Hopper (1921–1992)
Eulogy for Joseph Barron Hopper by his brother-in-law Dr. G. Thomson Brown.
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Blackstone Presbyterian Church
The story of Dorothy Longenecker's employment at Blackstone Presbyterian Church and how she came to be married there.
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Hoppers at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond
Brief overview of my grandfather and great-grandfather's studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary
Read MoreBilly Graham in the Dog House
The time Billy Graham's wife put her husband in the dog house.
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A Trip Around the World in 1935
The story of a missionary family traveling around the world in 1935.
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Daughters of Priscilla
A talk my Joe gave about God-fearing women on the Korean mission field.
Read MoreDaughters of Priscilla
A talk my grandfather gave about God-fearing women on the Korean mission field.
Read MoreLongenecker Family
My grandfather's brief history of his father-in-law's family, the Longeneckers of Pennsylvania.
Read MoreUncle Joe Hopper: preach the simple gospel
My grandfather's story of his great uncle, the Kentucky evangelist Joe Hopper.
Read MoreHoppers of Stanford Kentucky
My grandfather (Joe B. Hopper) left this record of his aunts and uncles on the Hopper side.
Read MoreShorter Catechism Boys
B.B. Warfield: "It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God."
Read MorePetition in Blood
A young Korean man writes a plea for entry into Bible College in his own blood.
Read MoreWritings of Joseph and Joe B. Hopper
Archive of writings of two Presbyterian missionaries to Korea.
Read MoreJoseph Hopper
Memoir of the early life of Joseph Hopper (1982-1971), Southern Presbyterian missionary to Korea.
Read MoreMinistry to Korean Lepers
American missionaries recount their joy-filled service to Korean lepers.
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Dorothy Longenecker Hopper, 1920-2015
Brief biography of the first 2/3 years of Dot Hopper's life.
Read MorePresbyterian Worship in Post War Korea
My grandfather describes worship service in post-Korean war mission churches in rural South Korea.
Read MoreAll That God Has Done
This is a talk Joe gave at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. which had supported them for many years. He summarizes the life of Joe and Dot in rural evangelist missionary work for their first 25 years in South Korea.
Read MoreInfluence of the Clan upon Church Growth in Korea
This research paper analyzes the family structure and social organization on Korean village life in the mid-twentieth century. In particular, it examines "village family ties and their effect on church growth."
Read MoreMission to Korea
Joe Hopper's memoir (published in 1999) recounting his thirty-eight years as a missionary to South Korea.
Read MoreMissionary Correspondence Letters (1948-1986)
Letters to friends, churches, and supporters regarding Joe and Dot's work in Korea from 1948 to 1986.
Read MoreMissionary Talks
Several outlines or manuscripts from a folder entitled "Missionary Talks".
Read MoreProtestant Reformation Leaders
Brief biographies of eight reformers: Peter Waldo, John Wyclif, John Huss, Savonarola, Erasmus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and Ignatius Loyola.
Read MoreSermon Preached at Montreat Presbyterian Church
A sermon on the judgment of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:16-28.
Read MoreStudies in the Parables of Jesus
A lengthy treatise on the parables written early in Joe's ministry. Part 1 provides an introductory study of the parables: "The Parables as a Literary Medium", "The Purpose of the Parables", "The Distribution of the Parables", "The Classification of the Parables", and "The Interpretation of the Parables". Part 2 contains expositions of ten of Jesus' parables.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit and Five New Testament Doctrines
Joe's 1951 Th.M. thesis from Union Theological Seminary. In this study, Joe examines the Holy Spirit in conjunction with five New Testament doctrines: Inspiration, Incarnation, Regeneration, Sanctification, and Ecclesiology.
Read MoreThe Mission of the Church is Missions
Gift of the Holy Spirit was especially for the carrying out of the Great Comission. A trust and responsibility to declare the terms of salvation. Open eyes and burning heart needed to carry out comission.
Read MoreThe Second Coming
An article on the second coming of Christ published in The Presbyterian Journal.
Read MoreWith the Cross of Jesus
Several outlines or manuscripts from a folder entitled "Missionary Talks".
Read MoreRev. Ebenezer Hunter and the Unsolved Murder
A tobacco-chewing, southern Presbyterian pastor solves a crime.
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