I am Mike Brady. I have been a General Baptist my whole Christian life, which started when God called me out of darkness and into His marvelous light in June 1990. I had an experience when I was younger, but if I had died before June 1990, I would not have ended up in a good place. It is good to know that God does not give up on us and will leave the ninety-nine to find the one.
“‘If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?’” (Matthew 18:12)
I would go on to serve in various positions in the church as I grew in the Lord. I served as Sunday school superintendent, youth director, and Sunday school teacher. I loved going to church and being with God’s people. It was there that God started working on me on a deeper level. Thoughts of sharing a message would run through my head. I wondered what it would be like to stand in the pulpit, sharing God’s word and helping people come to know Jesus personally. I shook those thoughts off, saying, “I could never do that.” But those thoughts would never entirely leave me. God would continue to work on my heart and allow me to serve in various positions until one fall weeknight in a revival that was held in a cemetery (yes, in a cemetery), where God called me to preach His word. I went home that night and shared with my wife what God was telling me to do, and she said, “I was wondering when you would surrender.” On December 12th, 1993, I preached my first sermon at Union Chapel General Baptist Church. I preached from the Book of John, the 3rd chapter, verses 3-8, and my sermon lasted 6 minutes. Many now wonder what happened to the good ole days.
I, like most preachers, started as a youth pastor when God called us to Plainview General Baptist in Auburn, KY. This was a challenging call because it would mean Tammy and I would have to leave the only church she had ever known to go and serve in the capacity God was calling us. We would accept this calling where we served Him and His church at Plainview for over a year. God then called us to serve the youth at Salmons church in Franklin, KY. I was blessed to serve under the man I now recognize as my pastor, Brother Don Key. We would serve the people at Salmons for the next eight-plus years. We were blessed to see our oldest son, Adam, come to know Jesus as his savior in our time at Salmons, along with many other young people still serving Jesus. Our time at Salmons church was a true blessing to my family and me, and it was a place where we would grow more in love with Jesus and His people. While at Salmons, God grew our family from 3 to 5 and prepared us to be used in other positions in ministry.
As much as we loved serving the people at Salmons and learning under Brother Don, God would move us again, but this time, He called me to be the senior pastor of Unity Church in Bowling Green, KY. Our time there was also unique and a place we would make lifelong friends. The church was close to Western Kentucky University, and we worked hard to reach the young people at school and in the community. By His grace, His church grew, and many souls came to know Jesus in our four years there.
God’s call was always evident, and every call was bi-vocational, which meant I always had something to fall back on if things did not go as planned. Then the call came to go into full-time ministry, one I would refuse for a season. God led the pulpit committee of Halltown church to reach out to me about their opening. I declined at that time because I did not think He was calling me into full-time ministry and asking me to leave my career and a church where I was happy. Three months later they called a second time to assure me that God was leading them to pursue me as their pastor. I assured them I would pray and get back to them with an answer. God only allowed me to confide in one person during this time. My longtime friend, Curtis, asked me a question I will never forget, “Did you open this door? Did you seek this position? Did you put your name in the hat?” I assured him I had not; he responded, “Who are you to close this door”? The process then started for me to become the next pastor of Halltown church. That new season of ministry started in September of 2006, and by the grace of God, I am still serving at this great church seventeen years later.
Since accepting His call to full-time ministry, God has allowed me to travel and serve Him in many places around His world. God’s call is a global call to reach “the whosoever,” wherever they may be. His call allowed me to work with Pastor Don, whose leadership encouraged me to serve on a short-term trip in Honduras in 1996. Since then, God has blessed me with the opportunity to serve in China, Africa, Cuba, Eastern Kentucky, Alabama, northern Florida, west Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Accepting God’s call has been such a blessing to me and my family and one that I would say yes to over and over again, both full-time and bi-vocational.
Answering God’s call requires faith in Jesus; He promises He will never leave or forsake us and has repeatedly proven Himself faithful. This is my calling story; what is yours?
About the Author: Mike Brady has served as pastor of Halltown General Baptist Church in Portland, TN since 2006. In his ministry, he has served on several short-term trips in 7 states. Additionally, since taking his first short-term mission trip with the General Baptists in 1996, he has participated on and led service trips to China, Africa, and Cuba.