After more than 35 years in pastoral ministry, David Hull retired from First Baptist Church, Huntsville, on Aug. 10.
A native of Louisville, Ky., Hull felt the Lord call him into ministry as he was attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration he enrolled at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., where he earned master of divinity, master of theology and doctor of ministry degrees.
Hull’s ministry officially began when he accepted a youth pastor position at his home church, Crescent Hill Baptist Church, Louisville. Since that time he has served as pastor of churches in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee prior to beginning his ministry at First, Huntsville, in 2002.
Hull said “the church has changed significantly” during his ministry, especially in worship and communication methods.
“In seminary I had never heard of contemporary worship and there was no such thing as email.”
An attitude of learning is vital to sustaining any ministry, he noted, drawing a parallel between a doctor needing to constantly learn new treatments and a pastor needing to adapt to changing technology.
“It’s so important to open up your mind and heart to learn new things … and be prepared to adapt from, learn from and use the changes to have a more effective ministry,” Hull said.
Although he is retiring from pastoral roles, Hull’s ministry is not over. “I’ll still be in the ministry. I’ll just be serving in a different capacity,” he said.
Hull and his wife, Jane, moved to Watkinsville, Ga., where Jane was elected pastor of Union Christian Church. He will serve as coordinator for the Center for Healthy Churches-Southeast.
They have two children and one grandchild.
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