EVERETTS — A local minister, whose family has a deep tradition in ministry, celebrated his 25^th anniversary at a local church recently.

Dennis Davis, minister at Everetts Church of Christ, was honored by his congregation on Nov. 23 for a quarter century of service with a plaque and a covered dish luncheon. Davis, who came to the church in Oct. 1989, was, originally, a fill-in while the church was looking for a full-time minister, he said. However, after hearing Davis preach and after several attempts to hire someone full-time, the church eventually hired him and he’s been there ever since, according to Davis.

Davis, a graduate of Pantego High School, went to Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tenn. and comes from a family with a long tradition in ministry. His father, Dennis Warren Davis, who was a full-time minister at Union Grove Church of Christ in Pantego for 24 years, was from Knoxville and attended the same college. Davis’ grandfather was an evangelist in the 1930s and ‘40s and filled-in at several churches in Beaufort County throughout the years. Even Davis’ great grandfather was involved in ministry — he was part of the founding of Barton College, which, at that time, was known as Atlantic Christian College and helped establish a lot of churches in eastern North Carolina, according to Davis. Also, on his mother’s side of the family, his grandfather was in ministry in eastern Tennessee, Davis said.

“When you look at generational things, we feel like, in a way, there’s a calling that comes from the Lord,” Davis said. “In high school, I had no clue in what direction I was going to go, but in a camp meeting the summer after I graduated, I knew the Lord wanted me to pursue that. That’s the way God works — He calls and commissions individuals to certain ministries. The biggest shows to fill are my own. I had good examples to follow.”

Following Davis, his son, Joel, serves as a part-time youth minister and has worked with the youth of Everetts for about six years, Davis said.

“He cares for the kids and grew up in the church,” Davis said. “He’s a very well, stable young man that people can trust with their kids. He’s spiritually minded and probably one of the best candidates for serving in that capacity because he cares about the kids and ministry. I’m proud of him.”

When Davis was hired as minister of Everetts, he and his wife had four children. Since, his congregation has seen him “grow up,” as they put it, and lead them through thick and thin. A 10-year member of the church, Julian Cutler, who has known Davis his entire life, said Davis not only is there for the congregation through good and bad times, but also challenges it to study scripture and not just trust what he analyzes through his preaching.

“He’s just a really humble guy,” Cutler said. “That’s the biggest attribute is that he challenges all of us to go look in the scripture for ourselves to verify what he says is correct — not to just take his word for it, but for us to go find out on our own. He’ll tell you really fast that he loves to teach, obviously — he’s a great Sunday school teacher. He loves to dig into scripture.

“When you’re having an emergency, he’s always there. He gets our church energized in the music. He’s just calm and cool. One of our leaders gave him a plaque on Sunday, and they basically said that they had seen him grow up and that he had been with them through all kinds of things — good things, bad things. ‘You’ve married our kids, buried our parents and some of us — you’ve been here with us through everything.’ He just wants to teach and direct and keep us on the straight and narrow to the best of his ability.”

“My perspective of ministry has been basically ministering the family and the number of years we’ve spent together, we’ve certainly developed a family,” Davis said. “It gives me a chance to know their needs.”

Davis said though ministry has changed over the years, it still all boils down to caring for people and leading people to the Lord. He enjoys helping his congregation understand the Word, not just read it, and he is dedicated to the needs of each and every member, through good times and bad, he said.

“The way that ministry is developed from something like my grandfather, being an evangelist, to my generation is it’s been a way of caring for people through everything they experience through life, death, sickness and everything else. For me, one of the things that’s really developed in my life, and I see it as a gift from God, is in the area of mercy and caring for people. I find the work of reaching out to people when they’re going through deaths and sickness as a way to care for people that you love.

“God’s given me that ability to not avoid those things but to be there for them and you can express how much you care for them and you get closer to them at those times. The other part is the preaching part of ministry. I love to understand the word of God and understanding that conveying a message comes from determining what the Bible says and to teach them in the area of living their life that God would like and bless them in their life. The preaching comes a little bit harder because there’s a little more of a dynamic nature that requires somewhat of an authority.  You’re leading people in an area that requires conviction. I think God just gives me a compassionate heart for the deep needs people are going through and the phases of life and they need someone to ive them encouragement and hope and pray for them, asking God to give them strength and help during those times. Those are important for a long-term ministry. We’ve learned that families love each other and care for each other and work through problems.”

Everetts Church of Christ is located at 109 S. Broad St. in Everetts.