Margaret Smith of Centre has a rare ministry in this age of all things digital: She sends a personal, handwritten note to each first-time visitor at her church. The 96-year-old continues to attend Sunday School, worship services and Woman’s Missionary Union meetings in person. A home economics graduate from Auburn University, she saw her mission in life as rearing her two children in a Christian home and telling people about Jesus. In church, she taught Sunday School for more than 50 years (a class is named for her) and worked with children and youth. Through the years, she has also given the legacy of her handmade wedding dresses to about 10 brides.
Ministry description: Hospitality
Church name: First Baptist Church Centre in Cherokee Baptist Association
Life verse: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Ps. 56:3).
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11).
Describe where you focus your greatest ministry efforts. Making contact with first-time visitors.
Q: Who was or is one of the most influential people in your faith life? Why?
A: My mother (Lillian Swilling). She was a widow and a school teacher. She took me to Sunday School and read Bible stories to me. She was a great influence on my life. My maternal grandmother (Belle Ford) lived with us. She was crippled with arthritis. She read the Bible to me.
Q: Tell about a turning point in your life and how God was involved.
A: When my husband died 10 years ago … I asked the Lord for strength to adjust.
Q: What has God been teaching you lately?
A: To trust in Him. I’ve known that all along, but the older I have gotten, the more I depend on Him. He’s led me too many times in certain directions in my life, and I knew it had to be Him.
Q: If there were one thing you could tell your younger self about faith, what would it be?
A: That God is faithful. He may not always answer the way you want Him to, but if you pray and ask Him for direction, He can be trusted. Through my life, I have learned I can depend on God to meet my needs.
Q: Have you ever read a book or heard a song that changed the way you think about God and faith? What was it and what did you learn from it?
A: The song “An Evening Prayer:” “If I have wounded any soul today/ If I have caused one foot to go astray/ If I have walked in my own willful way/ Dear Lord, forgive. … Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee/ Forgive the secret sins I do not see/ O guide me, love me and my Keeper be/ Dear Lord, Amen.” He will forgive me.
Q: Does your church have any special traditions that mean a lot to you? What are they?
A: Easter sunrise services and Christmas candlelight programs. It is just special to me to go to church every Sunday!
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