Charles Whisnant in Youth Ministry and Pastor

I still have my John A. Dickson Bible that I had in Seminary back in 1966-70. I finished in 1966 and married Charity in 1969, and I was at Gideon Baptist Church, in Fort Worth, under Dr. George Norris my last year. After we were married we were in Gideon until February 1970. Then we went to Wooster Baptist Temple.

I have made a list of some of those who had a desire to be in ministry. Some have certainly made the grade.

Had it not been for my website growbylearning and google search I would most likely not have came into contact with some on this list.

Al and Barbara Myers from high school days found us on Google Search and went to GrowbyLearning, and signed in on the guest book.

Some have found us on FACEBOOK.

Bill Rinehart, Randy Webb, Galyla Poindexter, June Arrington Wood, Kim Mott, Artur and Linda Begly, and those in FBC in Altoona, and missionaries, like (Bill Smith, Brad Hastings, Ernie Brown, preacher, and other friends who have been reunited because of Facebook. Bill
Seminary friends, ( Martin and Barbara Wilkins, Don Hallgren, Gene Hutton, Jay Conway,)

Well, to say, I could trace most of the friends on Facebook to places Charity and I have been over the last 41 years together and 45 years I have had since high school. Its' so cool.

VICTORY BAPTIST CHURCH 1974

VICTORY BAPTIST CHURCH 1974

YOUTH DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR

Pauline Lesmaster, and Pauline Whisnant )MOM

MOM WAS CHECKING HER HAIR EVEN IN 1974

Pauline Lesmaster now attends Rivers of Joy Baptist Church
CHARITY WHISNANT
YOUTH GROUP AT VICTORY BAPTIST
STEVE EUTON AND FRANKIE LEMASTER
Frankie Dawkins now, is a member of Rivers of Joy Baptist Church

YOSONDA COLLEY
KING AND QUEEN 1974


WELL I HAVE PULLED THESE PHOTO FROM MY FILES....
ARE THEY NOT JUST GREAT....

OBJECTIVES OF YOUTH MINISTRY

Bus Driver, Eloise Clay, Julia Moore, (sister before her), Elaine Clay, don't know, Jean Cundiff, Barbara Eaton, Jeannie Wilkins Woods, Becky Pickeral, Don Whisnant, don't know little girl

Front Row: Melvin Gray, Denny Campbell, Robert Shaver, don't know, Algie Myers, Henry Clay

Glen Furgeson in bus window. I must have taken this picture, who knows, where am I?

From left, Robert Shaver, Charles Whisnant, Donald Whisnant, Sandra Hulsey, Barbara Jean Campbell, Bus Driver, Melvin Gray. Great trip as I recall. (Thanks to Don for remember these names.)

REVIEWING BACK FROM TODAY’S PERSPECTIVE

Only as I look back can I get some perspective as to what I was doing, even when I didn’t really realize it. I believed teaching the youth and myself the Word of God, learning and teaching what God said in scripture, would there be genuine change. TOPICAL PREACHING IS NOT AS GOOD AS EXPOSITIONAL TEACHING. In my opinion, making people feel emotionally guilty about their life is not necessarily the best method of getting people to love the Lord. (Another article I see needs to be addressed)

If I remember, even in those early days, I was always with other teens. From my early preteen days we were always playing with a group of kids. Playing softball was our life. In our side yard, be it on Indiana Avenue or 21st street, or down the road, we were nearly everyday in the summer playing softball with a group of kids. That is what I remember most about my childhood-- playing softball during the summer.

Going to church camp was another activity that was a must. Every summer a group of youth would go to camp in North Carolina. Youth camp was a must for a lot of years even when I was a Pastor.

Any activity that we would have would be for the purpose of encouraging Christian living. And in almost any activity we would always teach the Bible. Whether there were two or fifty we would have fun, but in the end we wanted to teach the Bible.

My mindset was set on learning and teaching and showing and living a life that was pleasing unto the Lord. I had no clue about theology until I went to Seminary. I really had little clue about Bible doctrine, but I did read a lot and listen a lot to those who did. I must have absorbed some of that listening and reading. I wanted to be a Pro preacher/teacher. Like a Pro teaching golf.

I was totally focused on making my life’s work preaching and teaching and working in the church. I remember I couldn’t really focus on playing sports, because I knew I would be preaching some day. I couldn’t, I must admit, focus on dating my girlfriend of three years. She always wanted to be alone on a date, and I was usually with a group of kids from the church. When we would go to preach somewhere, it was usually Don and Algie and me. (I was not skilled in the area of taking my girl friend, was I dumb or what.) DUMB, FIRST CLASS. But I was totally honest in my dumbness.

Those early days we spent most of our time, when not in school, with kids in some kind of activity. We did play a lot of softball and football. We had a lot of Bible studies in our home. We had a lot of activities at the church. We had Sunday Morning teaching, Sunday afternoon we had a radio program and then on Sunday Evening a youth program and then church, and then after church another activity. Nearly every day was filled with some kind of activity that gave opportunity to teach. That was fun.

So naturally when we went to Seminary, I was expecting to have some of the same kind of ministry that I had at Roanoke Baptist Temple.

I BELIEVED BIBLE BAPTIST SEMINARY WAS THE BEST PLACE TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL BIBLE TEACHER AND PREACHER in 1966. They didn't have a class on preaching, pastoring or being a youth pastor.

While my focus at BBS was on learning the Bible, which there were good teaching, it was another story as to how to apply those principles in a local chuch setting.

Next time.

OBJECTIVES OF YOUTH MINISTRY

What is the objective of the ministry? When I was a Youth Pastor or Pastor, just what was the objective? part one \

Roanoke Baptist Temple 1963-1966

Youth Pastor Charles E. Whisnant

At first, I just did what I naturally wanted to do. I really didn’t have any professional training in ministry as a teen. I never read a book on

1. “HOW TO BECOME A TEACHING PRO-YOUTH PASTOR.,”
2. “WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A YOUTH PASTOR AT A LOCAL CHURCH?”
3. “LEARN TO TEACH THE BIBLE…THE PROFESSION OF A LIFETIME.”
4. “LEADER IN THE FIELD OF BIBLE INSTRUCTION.”

What does it take to become a golf teaching pro at a country club?

What does it take to become a pro youth pastor?

IN 1964 THERE WERE NO GOOGLING SEARCH ENGINES

From those days when I first became interested in church ministry, I loved working with people. Well, maybe not loving people so much, but having the desire to see youth grow in their love for Jesus Christ. I would say I wanted to teach them the Bible. I wanted to teach the Word of God in a way that would bring about their salvation and their love for the Lord, and their service for Him in the ministry. In teaching them the Word, and by their learning the principles set forth by Scripture, they would have a life that would be well pleasing unto the Lord. I believed the success in life, the success of living our life, was bound up in learning and applying the principles of the Word of God.

In those early years, I am referring to the ministry of Roanoke Baptist Temple, even as a teenager, I wanted to teach the Scripture. I wanted to learn myself, and I wanted to teach the Word to the teens. In my youth, Dad would take the family almost every month to a Fellowship Meeting to hear preachers preach. In our home, having preachers in our home was normal. Getting up in the morning, Dad would have the radio on Back To The Bible and Theodore Epps, or Oliver Greene, and Lester Roloff and others. How could you hear all them and not learn and want to learn what Christ had to say. There was a balance of teaching and preaching and encouragement to learn the Word.

I couldn’t write enough. I wrote down as much as I could about what I was learning and what I wanted to say. I was always writing down what I wanted to accomplish. I always wrote down the group of teens that I was working with. A practice I have done and continue to do to this day. MINISTRY IS PEOPLE. I always wanted to learn how to do ministry. What was the best way to teach, the best way to communicate truth and how to help people know the Lord and want to serve the Lord. I was always trying to figure out what was the best way of accomplishing my objectives.

I wanted people in our neighborhood to know Christ. I wanted those who came to our church and youth department to know Christ. I wanted them to understand what was meant to be a Christian and love Christ.

One of the ways to accomplish my objectives was to learn first myself. Secondly, I wanted to show others that I was a person who loved Christ. The best way of doing that, I believed, was to be with them. Youth trips, teaching at home, youth camp, retreats.

This has been a practice throughout the ministry. Our lives were to be a part of any one who would be with us. I always was trying to find ways to be with others so that I could teach them.

ROANOKE BAPTIST TEMPLE

YOUTH DIRECTOR OF
ROANOKE BAPTIST TEMPLE, ROANOKE, VIRGINIA
December 1963 - February 1966

When I was the Youth Director of Roanoke Baptist Temple from Dec 1963 thru February 1966 in Roanoke, Virginia, our youth group had a wonderful time. Melvin Gray, my assistant, who was saved in our church during a revival meeting, loved helping. Melvin provided transportation for us. He worked at the Bus Station and was able to get us this bus for a youth trip.

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While I was still in Jefferson High School dad asked me to be the teacher of the Youth Class. Donnie Taylor the teacher of the class left for the War in 1963. It was a wonderful experience as teacher of this class. For twenty-seven months, until my father died, we really had some wonderful times. While I played football at Jefferson and played basketball and other sports and club activities at the school, I was very involved with the ministry at the church. We were having activities each night with the youth during the school week, and we had a lot of activities during the summer. And I was dating Sandra Richardson for three years.

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Those twenty months we had a membership of thirty boys and forty girls. We established a good ministry with the youth. We began the "Team Captains" concept, which was the program we used in each church that we were to go in the future. Of course, after forty five years I cannot remember them all, but some I remember most: Those I have already mentioned above, and others: Jean Cundiff, Linda and Joyce Clay, Margie Pugh (her parents were very active in our church) Bonnie Greer, Sue Crigger, Brenda Williams, Barbara Eakin, Sue Becker, Beverly Dodson, Gary Correll, David Crager. Wayne and Jimmy Sanders who were our best friends. I have a list of over eighty, but these are the ones I really remember the best. I would really love to have a reunion of members of RBT.

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Dad always had a local radio program and during this time we were the director of a Youth Program each Sunday Afternoon live on the radio. We had a thirty minute program of music and I would preach. Donald and I would also go to preach in other churches for a Youth Rally.
Youth Camp was part of our ministry at RBT. Each year our youth group would travel to North Caroline to camp. Those were some very good days. I only wish I had pictures of those days.


Photo One: Charles Whisnant baseball at youth camp.
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Photo Two Front Row
Ones I can remember: Ellen Whisnant, Elaine Clay, Denny Campbell, Henry Clay, Melvin Gray

Sandra Richardson, Algie Myers, Donald Whisnant, Robert Shaver
Photo Three: Algie Myers at Youth Camp
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Photo Five: Robert Shavor, Myself, and Donald, Sue Crigger, Barbara Campbell, the Bus Driver, and Melvin Gray.