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New pastor begins tenure at Parkwood Baptist
James Nix / jnix@independenttribune.com
Rev. Michael Waters at Parkwood Baptist Church in Concord.
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Published: January 14, 2010
The new senior pastor of Parkwood Baptist Church in Concord, the Rev. Michael Waters, says his new church "is the best kept secret in Concord."
Waters, who came from a church outside Advance, a bedroom community outside Winston-Salem, was chosen to replace the Rev. Darrell Coble, who was the senior pastor at Parkwood for 35 years.
Waters' wife, Angie, and their three children have not relocated to Concord yet, but are planning a move at the end of the school year.
The Baptist church, Waters explained, is self-governing, which means a committee encompassing all demographics of the congregation works on the process of finding a new leader.
The Parkwood committee spent more than two years in a search for a new pastor.
"Pastor Mike," as he likes to be called, said that reverend is a title, but pastor is a duty.
"We aren't formal here," he said.
Waters started to perform his duties as senior pastor six weeks ago, after a four-month interview process.
"It was more like an interrogation. It was tough," committee member Gene Brooks said.
Brooks, 77, and his wife of 58 years, Ginny, were one of the first couples married at the original site of the church, and Gene was one of the original four families to establish the church 60 years ago.
Filling the shoes of a pastor who has served for so long can be a bit intimidating, according to Waters.
"They're big shoes to fill. It's kind of scary," he said. "It makes you humble."
The committee was looking for the right person, not necessarily a certain kind of pastor, and was always of one mind in the long process, Brooks said.
"We were looking to God to tell us who that was," Brooks said. "His (Waters) background, age, commitment and family make him the right man. Plus, he was called to be here."
"He felt the Lord was calling him to do something else. At the same time, we were praying that the Lord prepare a pastor for our church. He did not even know what was happening," Ginny said.
Waters said the move has been almost three years coming.
"About two and a half years ago I started to get restless — that whole thing of whether I was supposed to stay at that church. At that point, I had been at that church about seven years," Waters said.
Looking back at the process, Waters feels the extended length of the search was a healthy thing, because the congregation needed time to grieve.
"Had someone come the very next month after Pastor Coble resigned, I'm not sure they (the congregation) would have been ready," Waters said.
Waters is confident he was meant to be at Parkwood because of what he calls "little God moments" or coincidences that brought him here.
Parkwood is a church that ministers to everyone, according to Waters. The church ministers from preschoolers to seniors and is a very diverse church in terms of education and economics.
"They come from all walks of life," Waters said. "We are a cradle to grave church."
The church is fortunate to be debt free and has expanded as much as is necessary for the present time, so Waters is free to administer to spirit.
"I shy away from big goals on arrival. I feel like my number one goal is to really learn about them and their hearts," Waters said.
He wants to strengthen the programs they already have, "do what we do best."
"It's not a focus on changing, but improving on what we got," Waters said. "The church is a very giving church."
Two things the church feels make them stand out is a very large music program and a large hearing-impaired ministry.
"The deaf ministry has really touched my heart. There are, on a given Sunday, about 60 or 70 deaf people who come on campus. We have actually hired a full-time minister for that ministry," Waters said.
Two Sundays a month, there are separate services for the hearing impaired.
Parkwood has about 1,200 members. On a good Sunday, Waters said there are about 600 worshipers.
Brooks feels the church is a very unique and loving place.
"It was started by simple people in a simple time, where everybody loved everyone. It's still that way," Brooks said.
• Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-9140
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