The Spirit of Generosity

As we change seasons and begin to head into summer, let us begin with generosity. The word generosity means to give something in a large or more plentiful than unusual manner.

And for one church community in South Augusta, extravagant generosity should not just a be monthly or seasonal event instead it is a lifestyle and a legacy. The church community that I am referring to is Journey Sherwood. This local church headed up by pastor Keith Walton has decided to make a difference in the lives of its parishioners as well as the community around it. Recently I had an opportunity to interview Pastor Keith. And during this interview, we discussed, how he attained the role of pastor, his educational and work background, along with the many roles and responsibilities he now finds himself facilitating, And the why behind their generosity.

Interview with Pastor Keith

The role of a Pastor today is extraordinarily complex and very necessary for a church organization to remain relevant in the community it exists. Individuals tasked with such responsibilities must understand the law, political processes, as well as future trends in order effectively manage human capital. In an overly sensitive environment having the appropriate people sitting at the helm of these responsibilities can make or break a church organization, so getting a firsthand look into what it requires to do the job supports the incredibly important nature of this interview.

Subject, Education, and Ministry Initiative

The subject of my interview is Pastor Keith Walton. Pastor Keith a native of Augusta GA, has a BA in Business from, Southern Wesleyan University. And a Master's in Educational Leadership from Concordia University and a Master's in exercise science. Pastor Keith’s journey as a pastor started when he was working as a principal at a local school in the Augusta area. During his tenure, he received the call from God to go and be a pastor, so that is exactly what he did. The church in which he is now pastoring began there as a volunteer. Later conversations with the church's lead pastor led to him excepting the role as campus pastor for the Journey Sherwood location, at which he now resides. Journey Sherwood runs several programs one of which is called the care center. This center serves the community by providing clothes and a shopping experience, that is life-changing, for the people they serve. One, such patron committed, that, “...they...I never experienced anything like this in my entire life... they made to feel like such a princess.”

Job Challenges, Rewards, Roles, and Responsibilities

Like all jobs, there are aspects of a pastor's job that are challenging as well as rewarding. When asked the question, “What’s challenging with the pastoring role,” Keith, mentioned his heartbreaking for the community. He stated, "...your heart breaks when people aren’t ready to get out of poverty.

Another challenge this local pastor has is making sure the reality of Jesus is being communicated in a way that everyone can understand. When you have an audience with various educational backgrounds, like the Journey Sherwood community, that can be challenging. As in most churches securing volunteers is difficult and Journey Sherwood is no different. This along with the Journey Sherwood location having less than five years of active ministries in this community makes pastoring at such a location, no game of corn hole. The care center is open every 2nd Wednesday of the month. And serves on average upwards of 50 people. While only having 2hrs. of actual operation open to the public, and limited volunteers.

Journey Sherwood is also involved in the local struggle to close the literacy gap through a program called elevate. In this program, students are working toward increasing their reading and comprehension skills. The reason this program was implemented was to help increase the high schooler graduation rate in the area surrounding the church. When the church was first open pastor Keith being concerned about the people in the area that he would be pastoring, went and researched some of the challenges that exist in the area that he would be serving, what he found is that many of the residents do not make it past a 3rd-grade reading level. Which puts the area at a disproportionate risk for crime and other causalities of illiteracy My next question was aimed at the rewarding aspect of his current position, this – as you can imagine – was a much more welcomed topic. Which he attributed to functioning as Christ. Which consists of creating groups of like-minded people. Creating ministries to serve the community they live and work in. And sharing the Bible and watching it change people's lives. As she put it, “...using the tools and the resources appropriated to accomplish your targets.” In speaking with Pastor Keith, you immediately get the sense that he enjoys what she does. His care for people coupled with his leadership excellence was evident throughout our interview. And made the interview process a welcoming experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, many of the topics discussed during this interview were covered during a previous interview with an HR manager. Topics such as education, background, roles, and responsibilities, as well as the challenges and rewards of the job. During the interview, it was interesting to learn about Pastor Keith’s career process and how he developed his skills and abilities, which have transitioned perfectly into his current position allowing him the ability to use many of his gifts in his current role. My final question for Keith was what is the most rewarding part of his job? In which he replied, “The Aha moment...,” That is when the proverbial light bulb clicks on and the person you are ministering to finally gets it. This for Keith makes the job all worthwhile.

References

Interview with HR Manager. Napoleon Houser, (April 12, 2021.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from Microsoft Word (.docx) Word Mobile