From deacon to pastor
The Faith Mission Church of God Sydenham, St Catherine, is blessed to have Pastor Earl King as one of its spiritual leaders. He has been a pastor three years, having served as a deacon for more than 10 years.
Pastor King’s walk with God started in 1981 in London, England, Good Friday.
He explained that he was on a long weekend that year, all by himself, when the spirit of the Lord touched him that night.
“I felt the spirit of the Lord touch me that night. I had plans; I was not saved before so I decided I was going to have a merry weekend out with the lads, because my wife was in Jamaica at the time.
That night, conviction came on me and I woke up the next morning crying. Crying for what I don’t know,” said Pastor King.
King said he started to pray, and all the plans he had set for the weekend were cancelled, because there was a change in his life.
He felt different and said to himself that it had to be the Spirit of God dealing with him.
“Knowing that my wife, who had been saved for many years before me, was in Jamaica at the time, and was not around to see how broken I was before God, I said that she probably was there praying at the time for me to get saved. So I said that I would submit myself to God at that time. I did not come out of my house for four days,” said King.
After that long weekend, he went back to work and shared his new experience with his colleagues, who were happy for him.
However, according to Pastor King, one of them thought his new life was just a weekend thing.
“I said to him that I trust it was not just a weekend experience, but that it was forever. My lifestyle, I noticed it myself, it was changed. I still spoke to the guys around me but what we used to talk about before I got saved, I just did not talk to them about those anymore, because I was truly a changed man,” said King.
He pointed out that his wife, who was an experienced Christian, helped him in his spiritual growth and gave him lots of encouragement. King said that on arrival of his wife in London, from Jamaica, she was able to help him settle in a church.
He said he was a bit stubborn because he did not want to be baptised in England, as he wanted to do so in Jamaica. However, he said after discussions with his wife, and the pastor for a church, where she got him settled, he decided to get baptised in England.
“After about four or five years, the Lord opened the way, because I had always wanted to come home, to my wife. But she was always praying against me coming home and not being saved. So when I got saved and baptised, the door was opened, because I had the freedom now to come home.
“When I came home, I joined my wife in the church. She was the senior for me,” said Pastor King.
He said he loves the life he is now living, as a Christian, and shared that it is good to be a child of God, because Christian life is sweet, especially because he and his wife, who is at the helm of his church, are saying the same things as man and wife.
“Now that we are getting older, we seem to be enjoying it more. We will never leave that covenant that the Lord has put upon us. I am very satisfied with Christ,” said Pastor King.
He said the best time to start walking with the Lord is at a young age. He added that he wished he had surrendered his life to God at an early age. However, he is happy that he got saved and can testify, like many other persons, that he is looking forward to the return of the Lord for His chosen people.
He is calling on those who have not yet started their walk with God, espe- cially those who are up in age, to understand that it is not too late for them to surrender their life to Him.
“Though they did not make use of the early part of their life, but now that God has spared your life, to see this age like mine, it is a time that you can start to get your measure in life,” said King.
The pastor’s favourite Bible scripture is Psalm 27. His favourite song is Jesus is my Saviour.
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