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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 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

For the last few years I have done some supply preaching in various churches and have written five books. Last year I celebrated my 90th birthday by preaching at the Banner Elk Christian Fellowship. Carl Clawson is the pastor there, and he is my son-in-law.

Bev, my wife of 67 years, has been a faithful co-laborer with me in all my services. She has had a wonderful ministry of teaching and working with the women of our churches and leading Bible conferences. Besides that, she has been a super wife, homemaker, and mother to our three children.

Prayer Is the Heart of My Life and Ministry

Prayer has been the heart of my life and ministry. For example, I would go down to the Green St. Church early in the morning, go to a special room on the 4th floor and spend a good while in personal reading of the Bible and praying for myself, the needs of the church family, our community, and world.

Bev and I still spend time every morning reading the Bible, praying, and observing the Lord’s Supper. I believe God still has a lot of truth yet to be revealed. We want to be open to that truth and seek to apply it to our lives and share it with others. We believe the best is yet to come and that God’s Kingdom is going to come on earth as it is in heaven.

To Know Christ Better and to Make Him Known

by Bud Russell, Watauga County

Knowing God and His Son is the greatest experience I’ve ever known! He has loved me and done so much for me. Ephesians 3:14-21 is a favorite scripture of mine.

Companion in Service

God has blessed me with a wonderful mate and, outside of my relationship with the Lord, Betty is the most important gift He has given to me. She walks close beside me in this journey. Although she is more comfortable working behind the scenes, she is a huge part of my service to the Lord.

Mentors in Christ

God began a great work at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in the early 1980’s under the ministry of Reverend Don Foster. I was called as the youth minister in 1984 and, other than the pastor, I was the only other person on staff.

Pastor Foster was a wonderful mentor and during his ministry many people came to know Christ as their Savior. Our next pastor, Richard Ratliff, had the heart of an evangelist and was one of the most humble men I’ve ever known. He was totally focused on Jesus and making Him known to others. I learned much about ministry from him.

In the years that followed and with the rapid growth of the church, I was given the opportunity to transition to become the Minister of Education and Administration. It was a hard decision to leave the youth ministry at that particular time since my two children were growing up and would be in youth, but I felt someone else needed to be the youth leader to them.

Our most recent pastor of 16 years, Allan Blume, has been a wonderful mentor and has helped me learn and grow in ministry.

To Know Christ and Make Him Known

A major turning point in my Christian walk came when God allowed me to go through MasterLife which is a 26-week course that addresses discipleship, living in real relationship with God through prayer, memorization of scripture, fellowshipping with other believers, and witnessing.

MasterLife challenged me and brought me to this: To know Christ better and to make Him known. That is my goal in my work and in my life.

God has blessed me greatly in my ministry over the years. One of the benefits of being at one place for a long period of time include the joy of seeing the kids I ministered to when I was the youth leader become parents themselves, see most of them stay connected to the church, and watch them become Christian leaders in their homes and their work places as well as the local congregation.

Some are deacons now and others have taken various leadership positions. They are leading their own families in worship and service to the Lord.

Reach, Teach, and Minister to People

In the education ministry we have three goals: 1) To Reach People, 2) To Teach People, 3) To Minister to People. It is all about people and telling them about Jesus.

The two things God loves the most are His word and people. What a great opportunity to be allowed to handle the two things God loves the most. There is no higher calling than to teach the word of God and that is my passion.

The Lord Continues to Transform

by Fred Alderson, Ashe County

As with many people who get involved in drugs, I grew up in church. I knew all the Bible stories but quoting the Word wasn’t something I could do because I’d never spent any time in the Bible. I knew church, but I didn’t know Jesus. I was 42 years old before I realized knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus.

Experimenting with drugs began at 18 due to peer pressure. I was drawn to drugs that made me feel in control. The first time I tried meth that was it. It became a cycle: I’d use it and then dry out. This went on for 20 years. Meth made me feel 10 feet tall and bullet proof. The deep need to succeed helped drive me to it. I worked hard, paid my taxes, but I wasn’t hurting anyone, or so I thought.

Locked Up to Find Truth

In 2004, due to making and selling meth, I was sentenced to two years in prison. While awaiting transfer, I sat, alone, in a darkened cell in the Watauga County Jail reading from the Gideon Bible. At this point, I didn’t have any religion, not of my own. From my childhood time in church, though, Proverbs 22:6 kept coming to me: Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

After 23 years of meth use, it took awhile for my head to clear, but I quickly knew which direction to turn. I was tired of the lifestyle, tired of being driven to succeed and measuring myself against others. Meth is a jealous drug and using it caused me to lose my first wife and children. During my prison stay, I wrote my daughter twice a week until she responded. My daughters and I have reconciled and I’m very thankful for that.

During the two years in prison, I got lost in the Word of God. I started out in a spiritual wilderness, but I studied the Word and sought the Lord. A fellow inmate, a Chaplain’s assistant, told me to be diligent in seeking the Lord. I did. When I got out of prison I was urged to go through Celebrate Recovery. I’d been through NA (Narcotics Anonymous), but NA is a secular program. Celebrate Recovery is Christ-centered and Bible based. The first priority is to make Jesus your Savior because you can’t go through the program without Him.

A New Life In Christ

Although my wife, Tammy, did not receive the clemency we had asked for, I had peace in my heart. The three years she remained in prison allowed us to get to know each other “clean and sober”. I had total peace. Over the next months, she was allowed home passes. We became new creations and got lined up spiritually.

Upon getting out of prison, I lived with my parents. When Tammy got out of prison we renewed our marriage vows in Christ and were baptized together in August 2009. It has been our desire since leaving prison to have own our own home again. We believe the Lord led us to this house, and we are working toward buying it in the near future.

I always knew in the back of my mind that God had a plan. Philippians 1:6 says it best: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God took my freedom in order for me to finally come to him and mean it and he set me free. God swept my house clean and it has now been filled with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. We have a brand new life, marriage and a peace that is based on God’s love and forgiveness. We are excited about the “good work” he has planned for us.

Glad to be at Gladiola Girls

by Renee Furman, Watauga County

I came to the Lord in college through an on-campus ministry. College offers new experiences and forms different life expectations for young people as they see themselves as adults for the first time. It’s a time of meeting people who are different and is an exciting time of life.

After coming to the Lord, I was discipled by a sorority sister, and I met many women who trusted a God I didn’t, and who prayed for me. These women opened a whole new life for me. It was a precious beginning in my walk with the Lord.

God-Directed Passion

Years later, as I reflected on what I was supposed to do, I came to realize that ministering to young, college-age women is my passion -- it’s what’s in my heart. These young women face big challenges as they choose the direction their lives are going to take.

And, those choices bear great consequences – women need to be intentional when it comes to relationships. I heard it said that “men are filing cabinets and women are chalkboards.” In other words, when someone writes on a woman’s chalkboard it leaves an impression; but, men file everything in their out-box and send it to the shredder and never think twice about it. A sudden, in-the-moment, emotional decision can result in the huge responsibilities of raising a family and the creation of emotional baggage and issues, which affect other relationships for a very long time. I want these young women to know that every time they give a piece of themselves away, they have less of themselves when the time comes for marriage. Chalk boards get dusty, I, therefore, encourage these young women to be intentional about their relationships and where they want to go in life.

Fully Available to God’s Plan for My Life

You cannot control your life and be open and fully available to God. Owning a women’s clothing boutique was the result of my being open and available to Him. After my husband, Tom, the love of my life, passed away and two other loved ones, I found myself asking the question: what do I do now? After much prayer, consulting with my CPA and loved ones, and a two-year journey of careful and prayerful God orchestration, I came to the conclusion that buying Gladiola Girls was in God’s plan for me.

My goal is to create an environment where I can develop a relationship over time, and eventually have a one-on-one dialog with a woman shopping in my boutique. I’m really about the inside person, not the outside person. Girls can buy a dress and feel good on the outside and not good on the inside. Young women are my passion and at Gladiola Girls I want to birth an atmosphere of heaven. I always wear pearls, which are formed by an irritant in the shell. The irritants come in life, but what we choose to do with them is up to us. It’s not the high places, but it’s the places of drudgery where our characters are formed.

Everything is God’s – my life, my children, Gladiola Girls, is His. I am a simple woman who has a very faithful God. And I love meeting all types of women, young and not-so-young, at Gladiola Girls and sharing Jesus with them.

No Charge

by Roy Krege, Avery County

My public confession of faith came many years after I became a believer. Our family visited many churches as I grew up. Although being in a split denominational family was, at times, difficult, our parents wanted to make sure we believed in Jesus. They always made sure we were in church every Sunday.

Moving On Faith

As a child, I had a lot of ear problems due to the cold climate of New York State. After numerous doctor visits, my parents were told that we needed to move our family to Florida to get out of the cold climate. On faith, they packed up a family of six and moved us to Florida.

Six people lived in a small trailer until Dad could finally buy a piece of property that included an old army barrack on it. We didn’t have indoor plumbing for quite some time, and since Dad wasn’t a handyman, Mom and an 80-year-old man who had befriended our family, worked on the barrack to make it a home for us.

Godly Examples to Follow

Dad wouldn’t go into debt for anything. Believe it or not, he saved enough money to have a house built. He never bought anything on credit. We kids learned good habits from both Dad and Mom in that we were somewhat self-sufficient.

Both Mom and Dad were concerned that our faith remained strong and that we would follow the Lord. In later years when we moved to Banner Elk, my Dad was influential in getting a priest to come. They were both strong in their faith in Christ and the church.

Ministry Is More Than Preaching From the Pulpit

A turning point in my life was the song “Just as I Am”. As I listened to that one Sunday morning, I felt an unbelievable draw to Jesus, and I fully came to the Lord. Coming to faith was a turning point in my life.

It has strongly affected my entire life and for a while Marion and I thought we would go into full-time service. That didn’t happen in the traditional sense, but both of us strongly believe what we’ve done over the years is basically ministry.

Ministry is much more than preaching from the pulpit. Our work in education at The Crossnore School, Grandfather Home for Children, Lees-McRae College, and the community has all been, in our view, ministry.

I served 26 years at Lees-McRae College in many capacities and have been involved in other community activities such as the Woolly Worm Festival. I have loved being called the official “Mr. Woolly Worm”.

After I retired from Lees-McRae, I served as associate director of

Grandfather Home for Children and principal of their charter school. Grandfather Home is a ministry for abused children. When a child comes to the home damaged with no self-worth, more than anything, it is rewarding to see their lives rebuilt. We take great joy in teaching them that the mess they came from wasn’t their fault and love to see them adopted or to move on with their lives and become successful. This is truly the reward of ministry.

50 Years of Service, Three Great Lessons

Marion and I have had the privilege of ministering for 50 years. We’ve spoken in church settings, preached in many, and served on the North Carolina Baptist Foundation board. We’ve also ministered in interfaith works that have been a blessing.

The model for my life and the one I’ve tried to pass down to those to whom God allows us to minister is three fold. They are: (1) If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, learn to be the servant of all; (2) God makes no junk; (3) There is no charge.

When you add it all up, there was no charge for Jesus to save us and give us a great life here and a greater life in heaven.

Recently, a group of fellow Banner Elk residents “roasted” me. It was great fun and I’m thankful to those who showed their appreciation for the work I’ve tried to do but, in all honesty, I have received more than I have given. My life, since coming to Christ, has been one of being thankful and giving back. There’s been no charge.

Roy Krege wears many hats here in the High Country including being the master of ceremonies at the annual Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk.

by Betty Russell, Watauga County

I was nine years old when I asked Jesus into my heart to save me. As a child, I struggled with my salvation until I was twelve. At the age of twelve, I was baptized and became a member of my family’s church.

Over the past few years we have been seeing just how faithful God is and how He has blessed our family. My mother, Martha Jean Greene, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007. She initially went through surgery, chemotherapy treatments and a time of remission. The cancer returned along with more chemotherapy and a second surgery this week in Chapel Hill.

Mom’s faith in God remains strong and her attitude during this time has been “either way, I’m a winner”. God has also used this time to teach me how to minister to other people who may be going through the same thing.

Facing Life with No Fear Pleases God

“Life-things” just happen. No one is exempt from things happening to them or the people they love and care about.

The day of Mom’s most recent surgery, my morning devotion focused on fear. God’s Word tells us to “Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not in your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6. We don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring but facing the day without fear is pleasing to God.

I am so thankful that God puts people in our lives to comfort and support us through prayer, words of encouragement, and acts of kindness. I am also thankful for the blessing of family, my husband, my children, and my church family. God doesn’t want us to go back. He wants us to go forward in faith and living hope with an unconditional commitment to Jesus Christ.

Modeling Christ’s Love to Young Women

Mom has shown me since I was a child the kind of Christian model I am to be for the young women God has put in my life. Mom’s life in Jesus has that taught me how to love my husband, my children and their spouses, and our grandson Graydon! I want to be found praising Him no matter what comes my way because He is worthy!

God has allowed me to use what I’ve learned to minister to many people. Bud and I have a wonderful opportunity to serve as leaders in the Nearly Wed and Newly Wed Sunday School Class and share the same truth and comfort I’ve received from the Lord. I love the Sunday School class and the opportunity to mentor younger women. God is faithful through the hard and the easy “life-things”.

He’s been faithful to allow us to remain with the Mount Vernon Baptist Church family for many years, and we love these people. Bud and I want to be found faithful in loving God’s people and unbelievers alike.

Sweet Hours of Prayer

by Bev Price, Avery County

China was the land of my birth. My parents were American missionaries to that far away land. My mother was raised in China. She came to America for a short period of time, married an agriculture scientist, and returned to China with her husband.

My Mother Taught Me the Spirit-Filled Life

When I was three years old, my family came to America and moved to Raleigh, NC. Ours was a very spiritual home. My mother was a Bible teacher. She loved to teach God’s Word. She started a book club called The Miracle Book Club. It was an effort to get people to read the Bible and other books about the Lord. Mother loved people and had a great desire to tell them about the love of Jesus. She taught me the Spirit-filled life.

The call on my life has been to be a wife and a mother and to make a home for my family. My husband, Buddy, pastored several churches over a period of 42 years. I had the joy of serving with him in my capacity as a homemaker.

Challenges Met With Prayer

We have always met any challenge with prayer. Any major decisions we had to make, those which were fully challenging, were met by Buddy and me lying on our bedroom floor, praying. We prayed until God gave us the answer and then we would be obedient to what He led us to do. We didn’t know any other way to be in the Lord’s will.

I can no longer get down on the floor to pray, but we continue to pray daily. Each morning after we have the Lord’s Supper, we have intercessory prayer together. Our prayer list includes all

of our family members, many friends around the world as well as those people in our church and community with special needs. During a month’s time we also pray for all the countries of the world.

Legacy of God’s Faithfulness

God has given us three children, Carol, Wesley, and Susan. We lost our daughter Carol, due to a rare illness. She was only 50. This has been a great trial in our lives. Carol’s husband, Barry St. Clair, has Reach Out Ministries, a world-wide ministry based in Atlanta, Ga.

Our son, Wesley, is a plastic surgeon in Washington, DC. He ministered to President Ronald Reagan when he was shot on March 30, 1981. It was our son who found the bullet in Reagan’s chest.

Susan, our youngest child, took after me. She is a homemaker and pastor’s wife. Susan loves doing both. Her husband is Carl Clawson, pastor of the Banner Elk Christian Fellowship.

God has given Buddy and me a full and rich life. Serving my family and the Lord has been the joy of my life. Even though some health issues limit what I can do now, I can still pray. Intercessory prayer is always needed and anyone can do that.