Rayford Davis said he never doubted his lengthy ministry as pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Baptist Association.
“I had a peace in my heart that this was where God wanted me to be,” Davis said of his 44 years as pastor. “Other churches contacted me but I felt no need to go any place else. This is where God wanted me to be.”
Davis, 74, retired June 24, the 44th anniversary of the church he not only founded but also has been the only pastor of to date.
It all started when Davis was 19, shortly after he met a young woman named Dorothy at a friend’s house. There, God stepped in both in regard to his personal life and future ministry.
“I was completely devoid of any knowledge of Christianity,” Davis said. “I very seldom had ever been in church.”
He began to date Dorothy, who shared the gospel with him and led him to Christ. She has played both piano and organ for the past 44 years at Fellowship Baptist and — more importantly — has been his wife for 54 years.
Davis was called to the ministry soon after becoming a Christian and enrolled in Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham.
Before coming to Fellowship, he served as pastor of several Baptist churches, including Beaverton Baptist in Lamar Baptist Association; Fulton Bridge Baptist, Hamilton, in Marion Baptist Association; and Northside Baptist, Birmingham, in Birmingham Association.
It was during his time at Northside that Davis felt the Lord was calling him again.
“I began to feel the need to start a church, and the call was just like that I had the first time,” he said. “I don’t know if anybody’s ever had a second call like that but I did.”
Fellowship’s beginnings were humble — 23 people met in his home and those of two other members until the church’s building was completed.
While attendance at the church is usually around 75–80 now, Davis said some 300 attended regularly from the late 1960s through the end of the 1970s.
Offering a testament to Davis’ ministry, church member Laddie Waldrop said the pastor is responsible for leading him to the Lord.
“He preached salvation to me. He preached right to me,” said Waldrop, a member of Fellowship for 24 years.
And Davis might still be at Fellowship if not for a series of health problems.
A total of 18 surgeries for his heart, cancer and other issues have left him weak and unable to perform his job the way he would like.
Joy from helping others
Davis’ health problems were complicated Feb. 13, when a pickup truck ran a stop sign and he was hit where a surgical procedure had been performed.
“I never have really recovered,” Davis said. “I tell everybody I’ve still got a good mind, but my body … I just can’t go out.”
Visiting homes and members in the hospital had become tiring, and Davis often needed a stool to sit on when he preached.
“That was when I said, ‘It’s time to get out and let somebody else be pastor of the church,’” he explained.
Carlton Hadley, the church’s minister of music for 41 years who also retired June 24 (see story, this page), praised Davis’ leadership, expressing thanks that the pastor would make suggestions but always let him have the final word.
“We never had a cross word,” Hadley said. “He let me do the music. We never interfered with each other.”
Davis said his greatest joy in serving as a pastor has come through ministering to others.
“I’ve seen lives changed and homes restored, joy come into people’s hearts,” he said. “The greatest joy is to be able to be with people when they need you.”
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