September is designated as Pastor Appreciation Month, but we want you to have the opportunity to show your appreciation all year! Pastors work diligently, often neglecting personal needs to give us comfort and direction. We want to honor them for how much they do for their churches and their people. We display these Pastor Appreciation entries to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of their leadership.
Note from Preston Heath: If you haven’t shown a special appreciation for your Pastor and his family this year let me encourage you to plan a day, week or even a month with various activities and emphasis that will let the Pastor’s family know how much you appreciate them. It’s not too late! Many of our churches have already had a special recognition for the Pastor. Others are in the process. If your church hasn’t, now is the time to remember God’s man and have Pastor Appreciation Sunday. Often church members will tell me how wonderful their pastor and spouse are and all the things that the pastor’s family does for the church and community. This is your time to highlight God’s servant. Let the whole community know that you are honoring the pastor and some of them may want to show their appreciation too.
Elvis and Shirley Anderson are both wonderful people. They help out any way they can. If you need them for prayer they are there. They have a heart for lost souls and the needy. Our church is like family, we have a great love for each other. Thank you for allowing me to submit their names for the Pastor Appreciation page.
Our pastor’s Rev. Elvis Anderson and his wife, the assistant of South Gastonia PFWBC, are two wonderful Christian people. They preach the truth of god to each one of us. It is a pleasure for me to be a member of this church.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gloria Smith
Entry #3
There are not enough words in the English dictionary to ever explain how I feel about my pastor’s Elvis and Shirley Anderson. Not only do I honor, respect and love them, but I trust them in everything they say and do. They have lead and prayed for me through many hard times in my life, I have shared many wonderful times with them also. They are the most anointed pastor’s and fellow Christian’s I have ever met. I thank god for placing me under their leadership. I thank you lord for anointing them and placing them in your guidance and love.
Bunky Premo
Church Member
Entry #4
My name is Kevin Casal and I entered the doors to South Gastonia PFWB Church 3 yrs ago and my life has taken a drastic change. I am now saved and I live for god. I thank the lord for my salvation everyday.
I know a big part of me finding salvation was the inspiration of our pastors Elvis and Shirley Anderson. Since the day I walked into the church I have felt a sense of love in the church. I saw and heard our pastor deliver the lords words in such a strong and meaningful way. He made each sermon interesting, humorous but most important to the point! I know the love I feel comes from the Holy Spirit, in which is strong in our church, but that wouldn’t be the case if the church did not have a pastor with such an anointing. I have been to many churches before and have never felt such an anointing. He leads our congregation with pure love and this is why the presence of the Holy Spirit is strong in our church. His wife who is our associate pastor doesn’t miss a beat either. I see the respect and love she receives from our members at every service. I feel she has a special gift from god and our congregation is very lucky we have her as an associate pastor. Both pastors have had such an impact on my life, I praise god for placing them in my life. I know the lord is looking down and is very proud of pastor’s Elvis and Shirley Anderson.
God Bless you both, I love you.
Kevin Casal
Entry #5
To be a good pastor of the word of god you have to be in control of your righteous mind and your heart has to be pure so you can take in the fruit of the spirit. Also sometimes you have to give up personal goals and needs to help another. But the key to being a good pastor is when you are behind the pulpit you have to let the Holy Spirit take over and preach the word. Pray and study - that’s how the pastor over South Gastonia PFWB Church is able to do all the above. Pastor Elvis Anderson is a rich man, not with money, but with his anointing. I’ve seen pastor Elvis and his wife, associate pastor Shirley Anderson, help two friends that were in need of love and joy and the Holy Spirit. I’ve seen them pray for them over and over again to help them turn their lives around. I’ve seen them go out of their way to help a man who doesn’t even go to our church to have food and drink. Even when I was in need and drifting away pastor Elvis and his wife were always there for me praying, helping and lifting my spirit. I can only thank the almighty Lord for putting me in his house with such a loving and caring surrounding, that would never turn their back on me and that is hard to come by. Pastor Elvis is the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back and the tie off his neck. He comforts our church and makes us feel whole. Our church is not the biggest church but our pastor makes it feel like we are 10 stories high. Thank you pastor and associate pastor Anderson for being there when I needed a head to hug and a family to pray with. You all have been a blessing to me!!!!
Ricky Townsend
Entry #6
When the lord snatched a hold of me and gave me my salvation it was at the South Gastonia PFWB Church and I must say what a glorious day that was. Not only did I die and was born again abut the Lord introduced pastor Elvis Anderson and assistant pastor Shirley Anderson into my life and I would like to say its been a blessing to say what a joy it does my heart that I can write a few words about them. Not a day or time goes by that you don’t hear them praising their Lord and Savior. When things are hard and times are tough you never hear or see them looking down or saying why. They thank God for everything. They are the most selfless, humble, giving, caring people I have ever met. They care about their flock with the utmost love, always giving never wanting. Constantly doing gods work to the best of their ability. They are always there to listen and give the Lords advice, never judging. They don’t sugar coat anything when it comes to the Lord. Our pastors carry our burden everyday with little thought of their own. And they do it with a happy heart. Not once have I not been able to come to them, and they weren’t there for me. The always have time for me. I remember the first day I entered the Lords house, (by the way, I am 39 years old and never knew or should I say wanted to know God), they welcomed me and showed me gods love and that god loved me. Since that day the words I receive from both keep me strong in my walk with Christ. With their love and guidance and the grace of my Lord and Savior, I will see heaven one day. As Sheppard’s of the Lord’s flock, they don’t get any better than them, they sacrifice all for the lord’s flock. They will both receive a great reward in heaven. I am honored and privileged to call them our Sheppard’s.
There love and caring is more than I could ever write, to know them is an honor and a blessing.
We’ve had the privilege of knowing our pastors, Elvis and Shirley Anderson, for over 3 years.
The Anderson name may not be familiar to you but once you’ve met this couple you won’t forget them. They truly shine as servants of our Lord. We’ve seen them fight battle after battle with Satan and emerge victorious. In their humility and simplicity they place their trust and faith in God and he fails them not. How exemplary! They are truly invested in winning souls for the Lord and do so on a regular basis. God bless them and our church for we have surely been blessed. We hope and pray that they remain our pastors for many years to come.
Blessings!
Jan Cotton Mclemore
About Pastors Randy and Becky Barker
- Pastors of Zoar PFWB Church
Words really can not begin to express all that Pastor Randy and Becky have added to Zoar PFWB Church with their presence. We thank God for sending us this very anointed Pastor and wife. The leadership and guidance that Pastor Randy has giving to our Church Leaders has been awesome. I know that I speak for every department leader in our Church that we are learning so much from his wisdom and experience and that we are Spiritually growing to greater heights in all of our Ministries. Also, Becky is a definite wonderful addition with her charming personality. Our Church is really growing in our Spiritual Walk with God in leaps and bounds all because of the wonderful guidance we are getting from our Shepherd Leader. It is so awesome to sit back and hear all of our Community enjoying our Pastor, almost as much as we are at Zoar. He has only been here for a little over a year and everyone knows him and speaks so highly of him and Becky. I know that this is hard to believe, but he is at almost every turn in our Community and area Hospitals Ministering the Word of God. We love our Pastor and His Wife tremendously and we appreciate all that they are doing to guide our Church. I know that our Father in Heaven is looking down and saying to this wonderful Pastor and wife very well done my good and faithful Servants. May God Continue To Place His Anointing Upon Pastor Randy and Becky.
Wendy Butler
About Pastors W.G. & Elizabeth Beagle
- Pastors of Faith Temple PFWB Church
W. G. and Elizabeth Beagle have been a tremendous blessing for our church and to my personal family. As I continue to go through the process of Ordination, W. G. has met with me and has talked with me concerning being a well-rounded pastor. He has mentored me, he has prayed with me and my family, and has made hospital visits when my daughter was hospitalized. In my opinion, we at Faith Temple have the best praise and worship team all around and that is directly because of Elizabeth's leadership. We couldn't ask for a better team of Pastor and Wife than W. G. and Elizabeth.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to brag on our pastor and his wife.
Planting a new church is not an easy task. It takes a lot of faith and desire along with guidance from God. Pastor Jerome Bullard answered the call a little over a year ago and took that step of faith, planting a church in Leland, North Carolina; Bridge of Life Community Church. I have now attended the Bridge of Life Community Church for almost a year and play the keyboard for the praise team. I just wanted to say that it has been a year full of blessings and growth. The sacrifice that I see from my pastor and his wife has given me a stronger desire to serve God. We meet in a school and therefore we have to set-up and take-down every Sunday! It is not an easy task. Pastor Jerome focuses on getting the auditorium ready while his wife, Gwen, makes preparation for the kid's class and the nursery. She misses teaches during preaching because of the limited time that we have. God has seen and is seeing the sacrifice and is using it for his glory. We have had as many as 80 in attendance and have seen at least 8 souls saved. In the words of another member of our body, "God shows up every Sunday". God is blessing us physically and spiritually with growth. Pastor Jerome and his wife open up their home every Wednesday evening for a bible study that his created a group of people that not only get spiritually fed, but have a great time fellowshipping! This group encouraged a member who was impressed to start a youth bible study for teens. She is having as many as 24 every Wednesday night. God has used our pastor in many ways to promote his kingdom by having a "KINGDOM AGENDA" mind set. It's not all about desires, it's about action and results!! Church should be a hospital for sinners, not a nursing home for saints!
Just want to say how much I enjoy you and your family. It was a Blessing for you to be our Pastor. I believe God sent you this way for this people. Looking to see our church grow in leaps and bounds. Your good humor and beautiful family has just made a more beautiful church to worship in. Praise God we are one together in the Lord.
God Bless you and keep on keeping on.
Velma Lowry
Entry #2
By Lenny and Mary Lee Bernstein
Rev. Daniel J. Campbell is what you would call a Pastor with a heart for his sheep. When you need him, he is there for you. He preaches the word and we have had many saved, sanctified and filled with the baptism under his ministry. He's also quite good at guitar pick-en and singing and works diligently with our music department. He is truly a blessing to us at Congregational PFWB Church. Pastor Danny we appreciate YOU.
Lenny and Mary Lee Bernstein
Entry #3
By Bill Wiggins
Pastor Danny and family have been the very blessing that our church needed. Just a year after he came to us, I see good things happen in every service. He has made great strides in changing things for the better. This was done, using his careful to act effort, with out making anyone upset. He truly is a man of God, at the right place, at the right time.
Bill Wiggins -Resident Elder
About Pastor Mike Grady
-Pastor of Woods Grove PFWB Church
By Katrina Gurley-Chase
It is impossible for me to describe in one paragraph how fortunate I am I to have the Rev. Mike Grady as my Pastor. Brother Mike preaches the word of God and does not mask anything to keep from walking on toes. He is always supportive of his congregation and readily available when you need him. I have been through several trying times including the loss of my husband and Brother Mike and Sister Hilda are have always been there to offer there help. In addition to these two we are blessed to have his son and daughter, their spouses, and grandchildren that enhance his ministry while promoting family values. I wish I was a great writer and was able to describe my emotions better but basically what I am trying to say is that I thank God for sending me to Woods Grove and blessing me with a kind, compassionate, Godly man like Rev. Mike Grady. I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to publicly thank Brother Mike for the difference he's made in my life!!
Katrina Gurley-Chase
About Pastor Nelson and Lynn Hearl
- Pastor of Calvary PFWB Church
By Tammy McDowell
I am not really sure if I can squeeze this into a paragraph but I am certainly going to try. My family started attending Calvary PFWB Church about 7 years ago. We were very active in our previous church but had been hurt by a minister that we were once very close to. As soon as we entered the doors, we knew we were home. Nelson and Lynn Hearl welcomed us with open arms. Their loving spirit were like salve for our bleeding wounds. We have come to love Nelson and Lynn as parents. In fact when he introduces us, it's not as members of his church, but as his other children. You should see the looks on the faces of people that have known him for many years! You can literally see their mind's eye searching for a way that this could be possible. We don't make them wait too terribly long before we set the record straight. Nelson and Lynn were there for the death of my mother, my last remaining legal parent. I was adopted at 4 months old but my birth mother was raised as my sister and my birth father will have nothing to do with me as it is a reminder of a past he has chosen to forget. Thanks be to God that I was adopted again in 2000! I have now been blessed with another set of parents that only God could chosen for me! They have lead me both personally and spiritually throughout the years and I look forward to their guidance for years to come. Nelson always likes to sing songs about "going home" and I keep asking him if he's trying to rush it because I am certainly no where near ready to give him up. But if God were to see fit for him to be called home tomorrow I couldn't complain for I have been truly Blessed to have been under this spirit-filled man of God-my Pastor, Reverend Nelson Hearl.
Sincerely,
Tammy McDowell
About Pastor Ben Howard
- Former Pastor of Rose Hill PFWB Church
Though I have sat under the teaching of many pastors through the past 49 years of life… the one I appreciate the most is the one who taught me life, taught me ministry. I have seen him stop his car in the middle of an old dirt road and go out in the field or woods to pray, just because someone came to mind that needed his prayers. I have seen him stand in the middle of adversity and not back down for the cause of Christ no matter how much had come against him. He pastored 14 churches and has been a rock to many who needed his words of truth. Though rarely filling the metropolitan pulpit, he remained a country preacher with instilled values. As I have seen different pastors fill the pulpits of churches and face innumerable circumstances in life, yet I remain to see my pastor behind every I see… though in my mind only. The pastor I shall always appreciate was my dad - The Rev Ben Howard.
Dempsey Howard
About Pastor Ernie King
- Pastor of Freedom PFWB Church
The People's Pastor Pastor Ernie King: Truly an example of what it means to be a servant of God. He is unselfish, humble, and fully grounded in the Lord. It is very difficult to sum up in one simple paragraph just how much Ernie is appreciated by his congregation and why. Sometimes you can just look at him and see a halo circled over him. He always puts the needs of his followers and all in need before his own. He is a diligent teacher of the Word of God and not only does he teach the word, you see him practice it in his daily life. He has an incredible love for people and is openly accepting to all. All in all, Pastor King is truly a Pastor for the people and a true instrument of God. He is appreciated, loved, and respected for all that he does for all those around him, and for all that he means to God's minister.
The congregation of Pentecostal Freedom Freewill Baptist Church.
About Pastor Ted Mercer
- Pastor of Burgaw Holiness PFWB Church
You can search the world over but you will not find a better man of God than Pastor Ted. He is a one on one pastor with love for people, and I mean all people, not just his church people. His main goal in life is to get people saved and ready for the coming of the Lord. He feeds the people with the truth of God. He had that life changing experience that some people only dream about. His church has no walls, no limits. He serves a big God and he wants everyone to see there is no limit in God. He helps us in every ministry of our church.
This is a privilege to be able to write expressing how you have touched my life as my pastor for six years. You have been a prayer warrior for my family and through these prayers God has blessed. I have sat under your teaching and preaching when the topic was very uncomfortable and not popular to address, but whatever God placed on your heart this is what was delivered with boldness to please God and not man. Your leadership has been like Paul when he wrote in I Thessalonians 2:1-12 that we have suffered and been insulted, but with the help of God we still preach the gospel. Paul also wrote in these scriptures that they could have been a burden, but were gentle among them, but were like a mother caring for her little children. David, you do have a heart like Jesus that cares for his congregation and for the lost. Your heart mourns for the unsaved and for the people in your care that do not grow in the Lord. I appreciate that God has placed a person who seeks His presence in his daily walk to be the leader of our church. This is shown continuously through your passion of sharing God’s word, growing in your knowledge and understanding of God’s word, your servanthood and you seeking to lead through God’s will for Oak Grove. May God continue to bless your ministry and your family.
Pam G. Carroll
Entry #2
By Deb Hutchens
Pastor David Taylor is the epitome of a good shepherd. He loves his sheep with the kind of love that can only come from God. He truly has a heart for the world. He does everything as if unto the Lord. Every Sunday he delivers a new and powerful message directly from the Lord. What a great example to all of us in his flock. We at Oak Grove have been blessed. When my husband was injured in Bagdad, Pastor David drove 6 hours by himself to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to sit with and comfort me during the surgery and to have prayer with me and my husband. I will never forget that. It is selfless acts such as this that make Pastor David Taylor such an awesome vessel of the Lord. We love you and appreciate you more than you know.
Deb Hutchens
About Pastor Joseph Tew
- Pastor of Peniel PFWB Church
By Terri Treto
I am so honored to be able to show my appreciation for my Pastor, Joseph Tew. In the last few years I have grown to love and appreciate him and his wonderful family. Pastor Joseph has delivered Gods message of Love to us and has always made it a point to show us how much he loves us. We are so blessed to have him as our Pastor and our friend. Pastor Joseph not only shares God in his messages but he lives a life that demonstrates God everyday. He is truly a servant of God and we at Peniel are blessed to have him as our Pastor. My words can never express the blessed difference he has made in our lives and our church. I pray God will continue to Bless Him and he will continue to grow in Christ and in the ministry God has appointed him to do in such a time as this. I am so thankful we are one with him in Christ for this season and this hour.
Terri Treto
About Pastor Larry Turlington
-Pastor of Fort Run PFWB Church
Entry #1 - By Marcia Rouse
Larry Turlington and his wife, Lynn, are a great blessing to Fort Run church and to my personal family. He is always available and puts himself second to the needs of our church family. His love for people is apparent in everything he does, and Larry has a personality that enables him to relate at some level to everyone he meets. I was so proud of him at my daughter's wedding recently because unsaved members of my family were so impressed by him that I felt hope that I might at least get them to church. But not only does he pastor our church, but he is a member of the neighborhood fire and rescue units. So not only can he physically help in an emergency, but he can pray with me or for me at a time when I might not be able to pray.
Marcia Rouse
Entry #2 - By Donnie and Donna Vaughan
We are so pleased to be able to comment on our wonderful pastor Larry Turlington. He has made such a great impression upon the church family, the community, and our lives since he and his wife Lynn arrived. I know that he is a compassionate, and loving pastor, but most of all he preaches the true word of God and will not sweeten the words for our pleasure. He has a true concern for the lost and wants everyone to know that Jesus is the way to salvation. Brother Larry is the kind of pastor that puts everything he has into his love (being a pastor) he loves people and that gives him the edge on being close to them so he can show God's love by his actions not just words. My wife and I want to thank you for the chance to brag just a little on Brother Larry Turlington for we believe that he is God sent to us.
Donnie and Donna Vaughan
About Pastor Larry Williams
-Pastor of Oakland Community Church
By Sandra Fisher
Not only are you the "Shepard" of our "Flock", our Teacher and our Mentor, you are our Friend. We love you and your family and Thank God for you everyday.
