From the 2024 Summer edition of the Journey

Written by Jeff Smith with Terry Henry, Caroline McCrorey and Ben Cox

My father and mother were young and living in Lenoir, NC when I was born. My mother went into labor while my father was driving her to the hospital. So, I had an unorthodox birth, because I was born in the backseat of my grandmother's car on the way to the hospital at a stoplight. I jokingly say that I have red hair because the red light beamed on my head when I was born.

My mom was 17 years old when she gave birth to me, and my father was just a few years older than her at the time. They came from homes that believed in God, but they were not involved in church at that time. I wasn't raised in what one would traditionally call a “Christian home,” not because they didn't believe in God, but because neither were actively engaged in their faith at that point in their life.

Around age 10, my grandfather began to take me to Central Baptist Church in Lenoir, North Carolina. I would go to the children’s Sunday school class while he was in his Sunday school class. My Sunday school teacher gave out Juicy Fruit bubblegum if we were good, paid attention, and listened. I would do what I needed to get my gum.

My grandfather sang in the choir. So, when I would get out of Sunday school, I would go to service and sit in the sanctuary by myself and wait for him to get done singing. After they did their anthem, he'd come down and sit with me for the rest of the service.

My grandfather also took me to Wednesday night service, and that's when I first heard the gospel presented to me through the Royal Ambassador program.

I didn't know much about the Bible or God, but I heard that Jesus loved me, that He died for my sins, and that if I asked him into my heart, he'd come into my life. So, I went home one Wednesday night and I bowed down on my knees at my bedside. I asked Jesus to come into my life – and I believe He did – I was excited about it. When I shared this with my parents, they didn't really know how to deal with it.

My parents were divorced at that time and I was living with my father. Not long after this, he married a preacher’s daughter and we moved to Blowing Rock. Her father, Rev. Carson Eggers, was the minister at Laurel Fork Baptist Church and we went to church there.

While attending church there, I was baptized by Carson at 12 years old. I rededicated my life to Jesus at Laurel Fort Baptist Church on February 26th. I don't remember the year, but I remember the day and that the baptistry was very cold because the water heater was broken. When I went down into the water, I came up so fast, that I slipped and went down in the water a second time. I got baptized and re-baptized all at once. When people ask me if I remember my baptism, I say, “Absolutely, I remember it like it was yesterday.” I will never forget it.

My father and his second wife split up years later and my dad quit going to church. As a high school student, I got involved with First Baptist Church in Blowing Rock. One day, I received a phone call out of the blue from the new youth director there. She heard that I played basketball and was friends with some of the guys on the church basketball team, so she invited me to come be a part of it. Church basketball led me back to church again, and through that, I became involved with the youth group.

Throughout high school, I was very involved in the church on my own accord. God used my youth director and my friends to influence me and God began to work on me and through me. Being able to drive changed things, I was able to go to church by myself even though my dad didn’t attend. However, by the time I graduated high school, my father became very involved with the church.

I’d given my life to God when I was younger, but I didn't understand what it meant at that time; I guess I probably thought at that young age, “Well, I get to go to heaven, which is great.” As I began to mature, I started to understand the importance of living for God and being a witness for Jesus.

I was very close with my youth director because she had had a similar upbringing. She went to a small Presbyterian school called Montreat College. Through her guidance and support, God led me to the same school, more so because I wanted to play basketball than anything else. But once I got there, I discovered that God had me there for a greater purpose than just playing sports and I began to recognize God’s call into ministry.

The Call to Pastor

My youth director had been affirming a call to ministry in my life for awhile. But I kept pushing it away. When she would say, “I think you have gifts for ministry,” I would reply, “Well, I appreciate that, but I don’t think so.” I would laugh it off because I was not interested.

While attending Montreat, I was required to go to chapel services and I was also taking some required Bible classes. My professor began to articulate the same things my youth director was saying. He would say things like, “I think God's given you gifts to be used in the church.” So, I began to hear this call in multiple directions, but I continued to push it away until I came home on a Christmas break.

I worked at the Parkway Cafe at the Tanger Outlets in Blowing Rock as a waiter on school breaks. One night while I was serving tables, there was a lady eating by herself at one of my tables. She was very nice and polite; we chatted a little bit. When I brought her the check she said “You’re a Christian aren’t you?” I told her yes. Then, she said, “Well, God wants me to tell you something. God wants you to know that He’s got great things in store for you if you will just listen. God is calling you into ministry and you need to listen to that.”

I had never met this woman in my entire life. To me, she was another tourist who'd come to enjoy a weekend here. It was the most bizarre encounter I’ve ever had.

People I knew had encouraged this calling, but hearing this from a random stranger really caught my attention.

I thought, “How could this woman know that I am a Christian and that God is trying to call me into ministry?” I began to realize that God was really trying to get my attention. I had been stubborn, maybe it was time for me to start listening.

I wasn’t sure where to start, but I declared a major in Bible and Religion and began a youth ministry concentration. God continued to guide me along the way. I had to support myself through college, but God made a way for me to be there. I worked multiple jobs to pay my tuition. Every semester God made possible what seemed so impossible to me.

I'm a first-generation college graduate and that is special to me, but it was God who made it possible and helped me through; it was nothing I had done on my own. As I was preparing to graduate college, I was trying to discern what I was supposed to do in life. I've got a Bible degree, what do I do with this thing?

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to serve in a church or do something else. I had a professor who was in the army as a military chaplain. He was encouraging me in the direction of chaplaincy. So I went through the whole recruitment process and did the Military Entrance Process Station (MEPS) program in Charlotte, securing my job.

I was prepared to be an assistant chaplain in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was going to suffer for the Lord! Everything was set for me to go, but I had also put out feelers for positions serving as a youth minister in a church. At that time in my life, I was free to go anywhere God called. So, I began to apply to positions all over the US.

I prayed saying, “Lord, I'll do whatever you want me to do, but I need a sign from you..” I decided to apply to 10 churches. I prayed, “If you prefer that I go into the military and be a chaplain, then I would like to be rejected by all 10 of these congregations; but, if you don’t want me to serve in the military, let there be only one congregation that wants me so it is clear where you would have me be.”

God was faithful to my prayers. One by one, I started getting rejection letters. I celebrated each one I received. My friends thought I was crazy, because who rejoices over being rejected for a job? Yet for me, it was one less decision I had to make.

Eventually, it came down to two congregations, of which both were Presbyterian churches. I grew up in the Baptist Church, but none of the Baptist churches would hire me because I had gone to a Presbyterian College – ironic, huh?

First Presbyterian Church, a small church from a rural farm town in Bennettsville, South Carolina reached out asking for an in-person interview. I went and interviewed with them. A few days later, they called and said, “It's unanimous. We feel this is where God's calling you to be. We want you to serve our children and youth as our Director of Christian Education.” I told them I needed a couple of days to pray about it, and God made it clear that this is where he was calling me.

I knew my attraction to the place had to be a call from God. As a young, 21-year-old, why would I want to go to Bennettsville? There was nothing there for people my age. The biggest restaurant was Pizza Hut. There wasn’t a Walmart, or a movie theater, none of the stuff I was used to in Boone. It was a small, quaint place to live.

So, I went and began working in the church and spent four years serving that congregation doing youth ministry. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had a great minister who came alongside and mentored me. We prayed together, read Scripture together, and read and discussed theology books together. He helped me grow and mature in my faith.

I began to realize that maybe I was really a Presbyterian all this time and I just didn't know it. God called me to be an evangelical Presbyterian. God used my Baptist upbringing to enhance my Presbyterian theology and love for evangelism.

During my first year of service in Bennettsville, I married Angela, a close friend of mine from college. We were both working and serving the Lord together in this small town. She taught at the local private school and directed the choir at church, while I coached the junior varsity and varsity girls and boys basketball teams at her school. It was great, and we loved it.

God blessed our ministry during our time there, for when I started at the church, they only had six students in the youth ministry, and four years later we had 80 kids involved which was awesome. These short four years were rich and very special to us.

After Bennettsville, God called us to the First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I went from a 150-member congregation in a rural farm town to a 3,000-member congregation in a suburban area. I was hired as the Director of Youth Ministry there.

God’s Provision for Seminary

After two years of serving that congregation, God called me to seminary. I’ll never forget the interim minister pulling me into his office and telling me it was time for me to pursue seminary. He said that God was calling me, and I needed to listen to him. The church supported my efforts towards education and provided all the funding necessary through a theological endowment they had.

So, I began a five-and-a-half-year, part-time seminary experience. When I had about a year and a half of seminary education left, God called me away from the church in Spartanburg to serve as an associate pastor at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. I wrapped up my seminary studies while there and was officially ordained and installed as associate pastor at that congregation, still working in youth ministry, but also doing evangelism ministry.

After four years of wonderful ministry at Eastminster, God surprised me with a call to First Presbyterian Church in Boone. A mutual friend reached out to me and tried to convince me to speak with them about the possibility of being head of staff. I initially pushed it away because I wasn't looking for a position and was content with my current call.

Angela and I had purchased a house; we thought we were going to be there long-term. Angela was up for a very large promotion to be the CEO of the nonprofit ministry she was working with. But, throughout the interview process with First Presbyterian, it seemed clear that God was calling us to Boone. God has a sense of humor; calling me back home to serve a church I had not grown up in.

I Was a Boonerang Before it Was Cool!

I had been away from Boone for 20 years, but it still felt like home. I serve a congregation where the people who taught me in high school are now the ones I teach, a congregation where classmates that I went to school with or played little league ball with are now my parishioners. I have baptized their children and even a classmate who made a profession of faith for the first time. It's a special and unique situation that a lot of ministers can't say that they've ever experienced.

I never thought I would be back here in my hometown sending my children to the same schools I attended. It's been an interesting journey and a huge blessing, and God has been faithful every step of the way. God's gracious hand has led me along the path - from high school to college, from college to serving congregations, from seminary and doctoral studies to help me grow in faith and as a pastor.

I've had the pleasure of serving with wonderful ministers, who've been very encouraging and very supportive. I've learned a lot from them and that has helped me grow my faith and prepare me for each step along the way. When I look back, I can see God's hand over all of it.

I just recently finished up my doctoral work on evangelism. Presbyterians haven’t embraced that word very well. I think my upbringing played a strong role in my passion to share Chris and God is using that now as I share this fruit with other congregations in our denomination.

It's been an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be doing this. It's certainly not what I sought out, but what God pursued in me. It’s been a blessing to be back in my hometown. I often jokingly say that Jesus said that a prophet is not welcome in his hometown, but I say, “Thank God I'm a shepherd and not a prophet.”