By Leigh Pritchett
Correspondent, The Alabama Baptist
In 2019, Travis Coleman, 69, will retire after 29 years as senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Prattville. He also serves as finance chairman for The Alabama Baptist’s board of directors. An alumnus of Palm Beach Atlantic University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Coleman is a past president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
Ministry description: Senior pastor
Church name: First Baptist Church, Prattville, in Autauga Baptist Association
Life verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)
Q: Describe where you focus your greatest ministry efforts:
A: Discipling and mentoring people, particularly men.
Q: Who was or is one of the most influential people in your faith life? Why?
A: My mother was one of the most influential persons. My dad was not a Christian when I was growing up. He did not become a Christian until I was a freshman in college. My mother made sure that we were, from a very young age, in Sunday School, church, children’s choir, RAs and GAs. She taught Sunday School. She was the director of our Sunday morning preschool ministry. When God called me into ministry, I had a firm foundation in my mom.
Also a man named Johnny Cline. He was a Sunday School teacher in my youth years. Johnny provided the male spiritual leadership I needed in my life. My dad was a good father and loved his wife but he wasn’t a church person (during those years).
Q: Tell about a “turning point” in your life and how God was involved.
A: I attended the University of Florida my freshman and sophomore year. I went on a pre-med program. When I was called into ministry, I rationalized that I would be a medical missionary. I flunked two classes and made a “D” in another. I had made good grades in high school but I wasn’t in college. God got my attention, however. When I got back into His will, the good grades returned and I started dating Arlinda. When we married and moved to Palm Beach, I went to another college and my grades went up. Everything was fine after that.
Q: If there were one thing you could tell your younger self about faith, what would it be?
A: I would have told myself, “Rest more in God’s love.” I would have reminded myself that the relationship with God is more important than the work. Like a lot of us, we get so involved in being successful; God wants us to rest in Him, not be so anxious and realize that our identity is found in Him and walking with Him. My identity is not found in my work.
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: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” They sang that on the night I was baptized as a nine-year-old boy in Homestead, Florida. I have had strong faith since I was a young boy. That has been an anchor for me that has kept me strong in my faith and kept me from having doubts.
“Half Time” by Bob Buford. He was one of the founders of Leadership Network in Texas that helps pastors and staff with leadership. This book meant a lot to me. My significance was my strong marital relationship with my wife, that my children and their spouses are involved in church, and that my six grandchildren are involved in church. That’s going to last. All the other things are fleeting in life. Moving from success to significance — God really showed me that and I have shared that with other men through the years.
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