Churches I Have Served
As I look back over the past 36 years as a pastor, I could never start to name all the things I have learned from my journey. From the very beginning, it has been an educational experience. I have tried to remember some of the special things I heard from some older and much wiser preachers from the beginning of my ministry. One said, "Always remember, the smallest church is larger than the biggest pastor." Another made the statement, "Remember, never let the critics dictate the program." These, plus many others have served me well over the years. I often think of the late Randy Kilby, former President of Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute and something he said in his final sermon. A sermon when he finished, then walked from the pulpit into another room in the building and went on to be with the Lord. He made this statement, which in my opinion will help every single pastor starting out in the service of the Lord. To be successful in any work, remember three things. First, something was done before you got there; Second, Rome wasn't built in a day; Third, always remember grey headed folk have some sense. Each pastor, especially a new pastor, will always do himself a favor to remember these things.
God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve the following four churches, all in the state of North Carolina.
Faith Baptist Church of Forest City, NC
Faith was my first opportunity to serve as pastor. I was called there in September of 1972, at the age of 28. It was all a new experience to me, having only been a Christian for a little over three years. Although I had been very active in church and had held many positions, I had never been elected as a deacon, so even serving Communion was new to me. It was extremely difficult to start back to school and start out as a new pastor of a congregation at the same time. But, I knew God had called me and had given me this opportunity, So I did my best to try to keep up with the schedule of a student, a pastor, and part time worker on the days when I was not obligated elsewhere.
When I assumed my responsibilities, we had one deacon, and an average of about 30 in Sunday School. I thought for sure the number would pick up the very next Sunday, with me, the new pastor. It actually dropped into the 20s that next Sunday. What a humbling experience for a young preacher! By God's grace and a lot of hard work we were able to see souls saved as well as numerical growth in the short 29 months I served there. We were also able to construct an educational wing at the back of the church to provide some much needed space. As with any new pastor, the first place of service was an educational experience to say the least. I learned from my first attempt at shepherding a flock, that we all make mistakes we will not repeat the next place we serve. I have come to believe through the years that a pastor will always do a better job at each place of service than he did on the previous church field.
First Baptist Church Nebo, NC
I started as pastor of Nebo First Baptist on the first Sunday of January 1975. The church was located just East of Marion, NC and about 35 miles North of my home area. God blessed us there with a wonderful group of people to work with. I was still somewhat "green" in the ministry, but this ministry proved to be a maturing process for me. I will never forget the wonderful people God put in my life in the 8 1/2 years Edna and I served that church. We have been gone from Nebo since July 1983, but are still called back for funerals, homecoming, etc. because of the friends we made in the church. Just a great group of people to work and worship with.
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Taylorsville, NC
After serving over eight years at Nebo, I accepted a call to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Taylorsville, NC. Located in Alexander County, the church was almost a hundred miles from our home and families. Again, we settled in and and it soon became home to us and we began our ministry there, having some wonderful experiences and saw God add to the church. Because of the new growth, we became extremely crowded in the sanctuary so we began making plans to build a new sanctuary and were able to move into it in 1989. We were blessed to complete the building without a large debt because so many people were willing to give generously to the building project. We moved into the new building and enjoyed the new space for more than a year before we left Pleasant Hill to make the move to Goodes Creek, back in Rutherford County.
Goodes Creek Baptist Church, Cliffside, NC
In September 1990, the decision was made to accept the call to our present place of service, Goodes Creek Baptist, four miles West of Cliffside, NC. I had been familiar with this church and had previously preached in revival services during the stay of the former pastor. After getting settled in at Goodes Creek, I have enjoyed 21 years of ministry to a fantastic group of people. We have seen the church grow over the years as God has continued to add to his church. We had to expand our deacon group to be able to do a better job ministering through our family ministry. Over the years, the old sanctuary was remodeled to provide more Sunday School space and a new fellowship center was constructed in 2002. No pastor could ask to serve with a greater group of people who are willing to labor for the Lord. I still continue to serve as pastor at Goodes Creek.
