Bellevue Baptist Church, Gadsden
Etowah Baptist Association
Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 29:11
Favorite Hymn: “The Longer I Serve Him”
Hobbies: Making crafts and decorating
Family Status: Wife of 51 years to husband, Gerald; daughters and sons-in-law, Kristi Mitchell and Stuart, Amanda Buckenham and Ted; four grandchildren
Pat Chumley, 69, of Gadsden, believes “we can’t give enough back to the Lord for everything He has done for us.” She tries to be “His hands and feet” to show His love. She and her husband take children to church on Sundays, lead an adult Sunday School class and the Living Life Longer senior group at Bellevue Baptist Church, Gadsden. They also provide transportation and snacks for children to attend the church’s Wednesday night program. Chumley serves on her church’s benevolence and decorations committees and volunteers with Etowah Baptist Missions Center. For five years the Chumleys have been relief parents for Alabama Baptist Children’s Home in Oxford and were Alabama Department of Human Resources foster parents prior to that. Through their parenting ministry they have cared for more than 60 children.
Q: What influences in your life pointed you to Christ at the beginning of your faith journey?
A: Christian family. I was raised in a Christian home. My granddad was a great Christian man. He helped to build First Baptist Church, Attalla. He also started Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in the Duck Springs area. I was saved when I was 12 years old. When I was young I felt called into missions. I serve where I am. I did home interior for 30 years and I would share and be a witness in the homes where I did parties. We have opportunities wherever we are to win people to the Lord.
Q: When and how were you led into your ministry work?
A: As a child. I can’t remember when I wasn’t serving the Lord. We went to a country church and there were always opportunities to serve — from scrubbing the floors to mowing the grass.
Q: What does your ministry work demand?
A: It demands commitment. A strong work ethic. (Being) very responsible.
Q: What do you get from your ministry work?
A: A peace of spirit. It’s a spiritual thing between you and God. People who don’t know God don’t understand why you do it.
Q: How do family members support you?
A: My husband is a great support. He is my backbone.
Q: How do you see yourself involved in this in the future?
A: As long as my health holds up and God keeps blessing me I plan to keep on keeping on until He calls me home. (We never) retire from God.
Q: What difference will this ministry work make for you in the future?
A: [It will] give me a purpose. We’re here for a purpose and a reason. That’s our goal — to live for Him until He calls us home. At the missions center I like to put outfits together for ladies who can’t afford to buy a new dress. But they can come in there to get something nice.
Q: What difference has Jesus Christ made in your life?
A: He [is] my everything. He has always been there. I know He’s there. He’s made me a person who is worthwhile and useful. He doesn’t put us in the world to please ourselves but to serve Him. I don’t see how anybody who doesn’t know the Lord can get through any day.
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