In March of 1994, I felt the calling to preach the Word of God upon my life. I initially ran from the calling; I felt so unworthy. A few months later, I was hurt and out of work for a while. During that time of helplessness, I had extra time to hide myself in the Word of God and was reminded that although I felt worthless, God had a divine plan for my life. I realized like Moses that God equips the man for the job He has called him for. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16, KJV). In 1995, I preached my first sermon at Leland Grove Freewill Baptist Church.

When my time came to an end at Leland Grove, God moved me to Mt. Hebron Holiness Church in Maxton, NC, where I spent many years under the leadership of Pastor David Hunt. During my time with Pastor Hunt, I evangelized at various churches in and outside of North Carolina. In January 2009, Gospel Tabernacle Baptist Church called me as their pastor and I served there until September 2018. I spent a year evangelizing after parting from the church.  Then the Lord called me to become the Senior Pastor at Mt. Elim Baptist Church in 2019.

It has been my distinct honor and joy to be a servant of the Lord. My heart’s desire is to be in the will of God and to lead His people to trust in His promises and “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8, KJV). I have a yearning for the lost to come to the knowledge and saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I plan to spend my life sharing the Gospel, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, KJV). 

My wife, Connie, has been my biggest supporter in the ministry. We have two children, Kristin, (and her husband Christopher), and Johnathan (and wife Whitney).  They all are workers for Christ in their respective churches; our son Johnathan is also a minister. The Lord has also blessed us with four beautiful grands, Isabella, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Hazel. If you do not have a home church, I welcome you to Mt. Elim Baptist church where God is changing lives through the Word of God.

In His Service,

Pastor Chris Locklear