Pastor Strope has studied at Valley Forge Christian College (B.S.), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.A.R.), Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div), and the American Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem (now Jerusalem University College). He was youth pastor at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Clayton, NJ for 2 years; pastor of the Malaga and Willow Grove United Methodist Churches for 4 years; and has been the lead pastor of West Park United Methodist Church since 1990.