Bishop C. James King, Jr. was elected the 63rd Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on the fourth ballot on July 1, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was assigned to the Eleventh Episcopal District.

At the 2018 General Conference, Bishop King was assigned to the Fourth Episcopal District.

The eldest of twelve children, Bishop King was born May 15, 1948, in Columbus, Georgia, to Mr. Charles James King, Sr., and Mrs. Ruthie Mae Middlebrooks King. He was reared by his grandparents, Horace and Zadie Mae Middlebrooks. Bishop King received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Paine College, Augusta, Georgia (1974), with a major in history; his Master of Divinity degree from The Interdenominational Theological Center (Phillips School of Theology) in Old Testament (1979); and he earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio (1994), in educational administration with a special concentration in developing programs of self-help for economically disadvantaged children, youth and young adults.

He has pastored congregations in Georgia (Murray Memorial, Covington),Washington, D.C. (Bunton Institutional), Kentucky (Brown Memorial, Louisville),Indiana (Trinity, Indianapolis; and Murchison Tabernacle, Indianapolis) and Ohio(Peoples Community, Dayton; Phillips Memorial, Cincinnati; and St. Phillips, Hamilton).

His administrative experiences included serving as presiding elder of in the Cincinnati-Dayton-Indianapolis District in the Ohio-Central Indiana Region for twelve years. Additionally, he served in the Second Episcopal District as the Episcopal director of faith-based and community-based ministries. Bishop King was a member of The General Board of Personnel Services for 24 years and was serving as its vice chair when elected Bishop.

Bishop King is also the founder/president/CEO of Project One, Inc., a faith based, not for profit corporation. The Project One, Inc., ministry has helped over15,000 youth become engaged in meaningful summer employment and after-school programs. Bishop King has raised enormous amounts of funding to support youth services for Project One, Inc. Some of the programs he has developed are: The job Annual Summer Jobs Campaign, The Summer Earning and Enrichment Program, The Fatherhood Program, The Talented and Gifted Scholars (TAG) Program, and his latest – The After School University at the Alice Lucille Martin Educational Academy.

Bishop King served as chair of the Board of Trustees for The Interdenominational Theological Center – the first C.M.E. preacher who has served as the chair of this board. He was instrumental in raising funds for the school’s budget, working with the board in any and all administrative capacities which included the hiring of a new president for the school.