It may not be a world record but it certainly could come close. Robert Powell, pastor of Good Springs Baptist Church, Wynn, hasn’t missed a Sunday church service in 57 years.
“The last time I missed a Sunday was when I was 12 years old and I had the mumps,” the 69-year-old minister said.
On Sept. 24, Powell was recognized in a service of celebration at Rockville Baptist Church, Jackson, for his 50 years of ministry that encompassed 11 churches in four different states.
Powell knew he was being called into the ministry at the age of 16. “Every day during my devotional time I would repeat the Bible verse in Mark that says, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to all living creatures.’” And that is just what Powell did.
In 1948 he left to further his education at Mississippi College, during which time he accepted his first pastorate at Satartia Baptist Church located on the banks of the Yazoo River in the Mississippi Delta. Powell recalls his popularity in his student dorm when, on Sunday nights, he would return to his room with a horde of food given to him by the women in his church.
Then in 1953, a newlywed of seven months, Powell left his new bride, Audrey, to serve in the Army during the Korean conflict where he assisted Chaplain Francis Redford in the Signal Corps of the Eighth Army.
“Our assignment was to minister to the troops who were manning radio relay sites across the 38th parallel of Korea. We traveled constantly in an open jeep, stopping long enough at each site to conduct a worship service with the 10 to 12 men at each station,” Powell said. “The men were always glad to see us as they were alone at these mountaintop sites for weeks at a time. We would rotate the sermons. On the weekends we would go back to battalion headquarters at Chuchon, and each of us would conduct eight to 10 services each Sunday at the various company sites in that area.”
Powell had the opportunity to work with a Southern Baptist missionary couple serving in Korea, the Abernathys.
“Chaplain Redford and I were Southern Baptists so we took an offering at each service we conducted. We told the men we were giving their offerings to help rebuild Baptists churches that had been destroyed,” Powell said. “The soldiers were very generous. We gave the money to the Abernathys and they put it in several church building funds.”
Powell said members of the church where he served his first pastorate sent boxes of clothing to give to the Koreans.
When Powell’s enlistment ended he enrolled at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. Upon completion of seminary, Powell served at Newville Baptist Church in Judson Association and two years later he was called to Meadowbrook Baptist Church, Oxford.
In 1966 Powell was called to the North American missions field. He moved his family to Columbus, Ind., where he was pastor of two churches 30 miles apart.
Powell said one of the most memorable experiences during his three years in North American missions was the construction of two churches by students from Auburn University’s Baptist Student Union (BSU). The volunteers were led by BSU Director Walter Porter and his wife, Mary Lynn.
“Those kids donated their summers helping us build those churches,” Powell reminisced. “The last thing that Walter jokingly said to me when he pulled out was, ‘I hope I never see you again!’ Eight months later I called and told him that a mission in a neighboring town needed a church building. Walter didn’t hesitate.
He recruited a group of students to come out for the summer and they helped to build another church. “I can’t praise the Porters and those kids enough for the work they did. They’ll never know what a difference they made in so many people’s lives,” Powell said.
Powell attributes his impressive Sunday attendance record to the influence of his mother. “I can recall a Sunday or two when no one else other than my mother, brother and I showed up for Sunday School. She would sit us down on the front steps of the church and teach the lesson. “She instilled faithfulness in me as a child,” he said, noting one particular example. “One Sunday morning we had a sleet storm which was very unusual for south Alabama. My brother and I were rejoicing about not having to attend services and to our surprise, our mother informed us that we were indeed going to church,” the father of four and grandfather of eight said.
“‘Sunday sickness’ is a bad disease and I’ve been lucky enough over the years not to catch it,” he said with a chuckle. Powell explained that on the few occasions that he has undergone surgery, he has scheduled it on a Monday so that he could make it to church by Sunday.
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