“It’s amazing how gracious and kind the people of Hunter Street Baptist have been to me,” said Buddy Gray, who marked 30 years as pastor of the Hoover church June 1.
The Birmingham Baptist Association church held a reception in Gray’s honor that day and he shared a special message during Sunday services June 5.
Although he’s been serving at Hunter Street Baptist for three decades, Gray’s first call to ministry was when he was 16 years old.
He began preaching at rural churches not long after that and earned his bachelor’s degree from Samford University in Birmingham. He later earned a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and then a doctorate from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Gray also served as youth minister for Hunter Street Baptist in the late 1970s.
He said his “most significant role and most important role” is being a husband to his wife, Tricia, and a father to his three children.
Gray served as president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention for two terms starting in 1998. He also was a trustee and chairman of the board for Southern Seminary.
When asked about something he’s learned along the way in ministry, Gray said, “My greatest lesson or challenge is dealing with my own heart. I’m always aware that I’ve got a long way to go. I’m grateful that God’s been gracious to allow these people (at Hunter Street) to help me.”
When looking to the coming years at the church, Gray said, “Being Christians in our society is going to be more challenging than ever before and I think it’s important for churches and for Hunter Street to be healthy (and) have a real understanding of who God is and what our mission really is. … That’s going to be fascinating to see what will transpire over the next 10 to 20 years.”
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