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FROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF PRIMITIVE OR OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST MINISTERS BY DAVID MONTGOMERY AND MARK GREEN:
ELDER CHARLES H. KITCHENS
I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 22, 1956 and I really can't remember a time when I did not believe that Jesus was the Christ and our Savior.
As a young boy of about 13, I promised the Lord if he would just help with certain tasks then I would join the church. I may not have thought much about the pledge at that time but the Lord never let me forget.
After a year of feeling that my pastor, Elder J. M. Bullard was preaching only to me and feeling the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in relation to my sin andthe need for obedience, I submitted myself to church for membership and baptism. I was baptized on August 5, 1972 and became a member of El Bethel Church.
As a member of the church, I felt I should try to do whatever the church might ask and occasionally was called upon to introduce the services at our church. Within two months of graduating from college in May of 1980, our church was abruptly left without anyone to fill the regular appointment and I was called upon fill the time. From this time forward, I began to be called upon to exercise. I eventually filled a regular appointment at my home church and in November of 1986, was called to serve James Creek Church near Tremont, Mississippi, although I was not yet ordained.
In August 1988, I joined Zion Rest Church in Jasper, Alabama, led by a conviction that a person needed to have their membership near where they lived and that this was the best pattern for raising a family in the church. I was still serving James Creek and began to work to help them restore fellowship with churches in northern Alabama. Zion Rest established a Sunday night service in order to give me an opportunity to exercise, calling for my ordination in July 1990. On the day of my ordination, my wife of nearly 10 years joined the church and the church called me serve them two Sundays per month along with the Sunday night service. I had the privilege of baptizing my wife the next day and eventually all three of my children.
I continued to serve James Creek Church until January 1997. We saw the church grow from 6 to 13 members during the time I served there. I was called to serve Zion Rest as pastor in July 1996. From April 1998 to December 1999, our church has been blessed with 25 new members, half of these members having come to the church by way of baptism.
MINISTERS IN THE ORDINATION OF ELDER CHARLES H. KITCHENS:
Elder Armond Ritch - Pastor of Zion Rest, Elder Glenn Payne, Elder Thomas R. Blair, Elder G. Wayne Crocker, Elder Odell Deese, Elder W. G. Hall, Elder Edwin Farris, Elder Louis Culver, Elder Robert L. Willis, Elder Clayton C. O'Mary, Elder Gary A. Cordes, Elder Ronald Gilmore, Elder Ken Mallard, Elder Ben Tindall, Elder Elbert Barton |
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