Born on October 12, 1963, in Butler, PA, John was raised in Grove City and graduated from Grove City Area High School in 1982. He is a 1985 graduate of Grove City College from which he earned the B.A. degree in Political Science. After graduating from GCC, he briefly attended graduate school at the University of South Carolina in their School of Government and International Studies. He completed the M.Div degree at Erskine Theological Seminary in 1989. Rev. Dorr has also done additional study at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.
He was ordained by Catawba Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church on May 28, 1989 and became the first pastor of the Dutch Fork ARP Church in Irmo, SC. In 1992, he moved to the First Presbyterian Church of Sebring, FL, where he served as their Senior Pastor. In 1999, he was called to serve as the civilian Protestant chaplain for personnel of the U.S. Army’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. In June, 2002, he became Senior Pastor of the Peachtree Corners Presbyterian Church in suburban Atlanta. Rev. Dorr became the Pastor of Bethlehem Steltz Reformed Church (EPC) on March 1, 2011. He has served the ARP denomination on the Boards of World Witness, Annuities and Relief, and the Erskine College and Seminary Board of Trustees. He was chairman of the ARP Synod’s and Florida Presbytery’s Committees on the Minister and His Work and was director of junior high work in Catawba Presbytery. He was a Bible teacher at the Heartland Christian School in Sebring and adjunct professor at South Florida Community College. He is the past President of both the Peachtree Corners Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Southern York County. Rev. Dorr is also currently serving as the Stated Clerk of the EPC Presbytery of the East where he has also served as Moderator and Chairman of the presbytery’s Ministerial Committee. Locally, he served on the Southern York County School Board for 3 years from 2018 to 2021.
On June 15, 1985 he married Kathleen Habbershon in Red Lion, PA. Kathy is a teacher at Bearcat Digital Academy in York. They have a son, J.C., and two grandchildren. The Dorrs also have a daughter, Hannah, who also teaches in York. The Dorrs enjoy spending time with friends and family, travelling, and cheering for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers.