No Charge
Roy Krege
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.
“There was no charge for Jesus to save us and give us a great life here, and a greater life in Heaven”
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. For more information on the Woolly Worm Festival, click here.
This article was originally written for the Summer 2011 Edition of The Journey magazine.