Before there were microwaves, computers and Wal-Marts, Pastor James C. Crist Sr. was serving the Lord.
And Aug. 21, his church — Magnolia Baptist Church, Brewton (Escambia Baptist Association) — honored that legacy by celebrating his 80th birthday and the 57 of those 80 years that have been spent in the ministry.
“It’s a calling,” Crist said. “God continues to bless us and use us (he and his wife, Helen) so we continue to serve. I’ll always do something until God calls me home.”
Crist will tell you he has certainly experienced a lot in his 80 years.
Crist was born Aug. 17, 1925 as James Marshall Slade. His birth parents were killed in an accident when he was 4 years old, and Toulmin and Julia Crist adopted him.
A good turn followed the tragic one, to be sure — but tragedy wasn’t over for James Slade, now James Crist. Years later, Toulmin Crist had a fatal fall while painting a house. Unable to care for her son during the Depression era, Julia Crist placed him in a children’s home until she could care for him again.
But a new blessing was soon to come, Crist said, as his adopted mother married Albert L. Merrifield, who became a godly father figure to her son. In time, Crist was saved at age 13 at the former Hunter Memorial Baptist Church, Mobile.
Crist is quick to say that God carried him through challenging times after his conversion. When he was 17, Crist enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving in the Pacific theater during World War II and fighting in 10 major battles. At one time, he did not catch a glimpse of land for 19 months. It was a trying time that led him to the point where Crist felt called to the ministry, he said. Upon his return home at the age of 21, he joined First Baptist Church, Chickasaw. Crist surrendered his life to the ministry at the same time a young teenage girl, Helen, surrendered her life to the Lord. They met at the altar and soon started their ministry together, he said.
Their courting included trips to visit the wounded at a Marine hospital, where she played the clarinet and he preached. Now, after more than 55 years of marriage, James Crist said he and his wife still make up the 100-percent team effort that has driven the 57-year ministry. Even when their children were very young, she would travel with him — often by bus — as he preached and visited.
“The family relationship and the closeness of the family are very important,” he said. “You need a family who loves the Lord and will pray with you. The whole family is part of the calling.”
Some of the Crists’ favorite memories are of their teenage children escorting other youth down the church aisle and leading them to Christ. The couple agreed they are pleased with the way their children turned out, though they said people often ridiculed them for raising their children in church.
In addition to serving churches as pastor and wife leading people to Christ and guiding more than a dozen young men and women to work in the ministry, the two have served in several associations and several small churches in southwest Alabama. In one church in one year, they saw 28 baptisms.
Though he said many of his friends encourage him to retire, Crist does not feel as though the Holy Spirit is leading him to retire. Instead he has persevered through bad health and other obstacles.
The Crists have seen their share of tough times, Helen Crist said, but they’ve also experienced plenty of blessings.
She told of her family’s dedication to serve, driving long distances to pastor small churches and visit the sick and lonely. Her husband’s revivals often included giving devotions on the radio, speaking to factory and mill workers on their lunch breaks and visiting schools to share God’s Word with students.
Helen Crist recalled one two-week revival meeting where he spoke to groups four or five times a day and was paid with a paper sack full of change. She said God had always met their needs. “We’ve just learned from the bad things that happen, turned everything over to God and counted the blessings we do have,” she said. “You have ups and downs but you forget about those. You’re left with precious memories.”
80-year-old Alabama pastor attributes continued ministry to God, family
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