Pastor Ed King and his wife, Shirley, know what it means to move from church to church; speak at revivals, banquets and civic group functions; support domestic and international missions trips; and do what is needed to “work as unto the Lord.” They know because for the last 40 years, that’s exactly what they have been doing.
“I was going to serve in churches as deacon, but that wasn’t the full surrender to what He wanted,” said King, pastor of Crestline Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, in Tuscaloosa Baptist Association.
So in 1969, the University of Alabama graduate and U.S. Navy veteran left his job in occupational rehabilitation and headed to Midfield with his wife and three children for his first pastorate. From Main Street Baptist Church, Midfield (now New Faith Baptist Church, Pleasant Grove), the Kings moved to Shiloh Baptist Church, Ralph; Moundville Baptist Church; Rosedale Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa; and Crestline Baptist.
“There have been so many exciting times,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of wonderful people, pastored five churches and seen a lot of souls saved and several young men surrender to the ministry and to be missionaries. … I don’t take credit for it. I just happened to be there at the time and was blessed to see them surrender to the Lord.”
King was blessed even more when he saw many of those men and members of his former churches, along with current church members and family, at Crestline in May.
They came together to honor him and his wife for their four decades of ministry, including his volunteer work as a chaplain. “She’s been right there with us all the way, always encouraging and always following what I felt like was God’s leadership in our life,” King said of his wife of 49 years. “It’s been a wonderful life. I wouldn’t change anything except try to be more what God wants us to be.”
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