Prayer is the Heart of the Ministry by Buddy Price, Avery County
I was reared in Raleigh, N.C. and became a Christian at the age of 16. I studied at N.C. State and received a degree in Civil Engineering and then taught in the Civil Engineering Department at N.C. State for three and one half years.
God’s Call Changes My Plans During this time of teaching, I became active in Christian work. Friends began to say that they thought God was calling me to be a preacher. My reply was always “I believe God had called me to engineering”. I struggled with this
8 Summer 2011
decision for months. Finally I said that I was going to decide this question once for all, “Am I to be a preacher or a college professor”. I went to my bedroom, got down on my knees and prayed for direction. Twenty minutes later, I got up, went down stairs and told my wife that I believed God had called me to preach. I did not hear any voices or see any visions but I knew in my heart that God had called me to be a pastor.
Life-long Ministry In 1945 at age of 25, I resigned my position at N.C. State, was ordained to the Baptist ministry at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. and moved to Fort Worth, Texas where I spent the next five years learning to be a preacher at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After completing my doctoral studies, I was called to the Weldon Baptist Church in Weldon, N.C. I then moved on to the First Baptist Church in Asheboro, N.C., and from there to the Green St. Baptist in High Point N.C. I served that vibrant congregation for 22 years. The Lord brought many to salvation during my ministry there. When I resigned my pastorate there, we had 2,700 members. I led in the organization of the Grace Baptist Church in High Point, N. C. This fellowship was open to the fullness of the Holy Spirit. After eight delightful years of ministry there, I
