Called To Serve

By Fran Simmons | July 21, 2016

Liberty Baptist Church has certainly enjoyed its pastors. I am also sure the pastors have enjoyed serving the church. The records tell us 34 servants of God have been called to minister and lead this church over its 164-year lifetime.

Each pastor has been faced with a unique challenge. Some pastors saw great numbers come to Christ, while others did not, but we must remember that every time a pastor and his congregation reap a harvest of souls, someone has planted the seeds.

It is very probable that many pastors who saw great results were reaping the benefits of former dedicated servants. The Divine Call of God places men in his service to meet specific needs of the church. While one pastor is used for building the love and unity of the body, another is called to mobilize the people in to the field of evangelism. The major mission of the church is always reaching people for Christ, but before this can be done the church must be prepared for the Holy Spirit. Some pastors have seen the love, unity, and results of evangelism all flow together during his ministry.

Space would never allow us to even paraphrase the work of each pastor. Some will be mentioned as the church began to build or organize a new ministry. It is not our intention to leave any one out, but to assure you that each man called to this field appeared to have a genuine love for God and His people. Although each pastor had a different personality and background, their message was one – the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a list of our pastors from 1852:

1852 – John L. Cypert, N. Welch
1855 – J. H. McCorkle, J. M. Corbin, W. J. N. Wiley
1895 – J. O. A. Pace, J. M. Moore, R. S. Flemming
1904 – J. W. Versey, W. L. Howse (Supply), O. F. Huckaba (Supply), B. F. Stamps
1906 – J. R. Wiggs
1907 – E. B. Buchannan
1909 – J. K. Bone
1909 – W. R. Puckett
1911 – L. N. Brock
1912 – W. A. Fowler
1917 – E. Floyd Olive
1918 – Lee McCorkle
1919 – J. W. Haddock, T. J. Rose (Supply), L. M. Emery
1922 – E. Floyd Olive
1925 – W. A. Fowler
1929 – S. H. Lewis
1939 – Dr. R. L. Motley
1943 – Marvin Wayland
1947 – C. A. Hess
1951 – Clifford Huskey
1953 – Dean Simpson
1958 – W. M. Goodwin (Supply)
1959 – Charles Dupier
1963 – W. W. Stockman
1967 – Milton Burks
1972 – Elbert Dederick
1975 – Barry Campbell
1979 – Sammy Wallace
1982 – 1985 David L. Taylor
1986 – 1987 Brian Horton
1988 – 1990 David Jones
1990 – 1994 Steve Aarron
1995 – 1999 Barrett Long
2000 – Dodd Allee
2002 – 2005 Michael Gass
2007 – 2010 Rodney Shewbart
2011 – 2012 Brandon Rainey
2013 Tom Sibley