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1.
Tell us your Name, Church, How long you have been a Pastor?
I am Reverend James
Ray Finchum Jr. I do not have my own church where I am resident
Pastor. I do street preaching, I visit hospitals, nursing homes,
jails, and prisons. I have been a Pastor since December 11, 2007.
But I have been
walking with Jesus Christ for 6 years now.
2. Do you have a family and tell us a little about them?
Yes I have a very
loving family. They consist of my lovely wife, Patricia Finchum.
My wonderful children. Together My wife and I work together
ministering God's Words to the lost who need salvation. 'He who
finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.'
Proverbs 18:22
3. When did you know it was your calling to be a Pastor?
When I realized
that there was a void in my life that nothing could fill. I tried
everything and yet nothing would take away this void. I went to a
Revival and listened to the Preacher. The man seemed to be speaking
directly at me. I went to that altar and gave my life to the Lord
that very night. Once I did that, I began to have vivid dreams of me
standing on a street corner preaching God's Word.
I went and asked a
Pastor what could these dreams mean. He told me ask God for His
Will. I did and God gave me the dreams more vivid. I then realized
God wanted me to preach His Words to the lost. I began studying the
Bible in earnest. I studied the Bible for over ten years before I
was ordained on December 11, 2007.
4. Tell us a little about your Church, Your Mission, Your
Beliefs.
I do not currently
have my own church. But I was ordained through St. Luke's Evangelical
Christian Ministry, which is located in Hephzibah, Georgia. My
Mission is to try to let every lost person hear of the love of Jesus Christ's
amazing love.
My Belief is that the
Bible is the literal word of God. I believe that Jesus Christ
did walk this Earth. That He was beaten, scourged, and eventually crucified
for our transgressions. I believe that Jesus then arose in three
days. He did all this because He loved us.
5. Tell us a little about yourself and your testimony.
I was raised in the
church from a little boy. I remained in church until teenage years.
I then backslid on the Lord. I became attracted to the worldly
pleasures of this life. I began to drink, got involved in drugs.
I did this (I now realize) to fill the void that was in my life.
I kept up this form
of life until I was involved in a horrible car wreck. By all
accounts I should be dead. But I lived. I laid in the hospital
trying to figure out how I got into this situation. My family
minister came to see me and told me that Jesus still loved me. But I was
not ready to accept this fact.
I was released from
the hospital and went right back to the way I was living. I lived
this way until 2001. In this year I lost everything I had in my
life, God was chastising me. I started back in Church. I began
to give my life back to God. I went to a Revival in 2002, fully gave
my life back to Jesus Christ and was baptized. Since that day that
void has been filled with the love of Jesus Christ.
6. Give a brief description of the Pastor's heart coming
from your own.
A Pastor's heart should
be filled with compassion, love, help, and forgiveness for anyone who
desires a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
7. What is your favorite scripture and why does it speak to
you?
That would have to
be Joshua 24:15. The last sentence of that verse.
'But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.' This speaks to me because this is
true of my house and I pray that it would be true for every house in the
world. This scripture tells me this world would not be suffering the
things we are suffering with if every house served the Lord.
8. What would you like to tell others that have a calling to
become a Pastor?
I
would tell them to remember Jesus Christ's Apostles were not
professionally schooled. They mainly followed Jesus Christ and
obeyed His Teachings. One does not have to go to a Bible College to
be a successful Pastor. Study God's Word, Memorize the Teachings,
Make your life a living example of the teachings.
By doing these things you
will become a very good pastor. Let your life reflect the teachings
of Jesus. Show the love of Jesus. Be a part of glorified
church, maintain good Christian fellowships. DO NOT CONFORM TO THIS
WORLD OR ITS STANDARDS.
By doing these things, you
can become a wonderful pastor. Express your desire to your church of
wanting to become a pastor. Then the church elders will tell you how
to do it by their standards.
9. How in your words would you tell others how they can draw
nearer to Christ.
I would tell them to study God's Word everyday. To talk to
God everyday in prayer as you would your best friend. The Bible does
not expect us to be perfect, you will mess up. That is why the Bible
says to Repent Daily.
Jesus tells us in
the Bible how to get closer to Him.
It is in Matthew 16:
24, 25.
' If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'
We must take up our
cross and follow Jesus everyday by following His example. We must
let our life show the examples of Jesus Christ, which is compassion, love,
forgiveness.
10. What would you like to tell our readers?
I
would like to tell them God loved us dearly. Listen to John 3:16.
'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.'
This is true love.
Jesus suffered horribly for us. Jesus walked this Earth sinless, without a
blot. But yet He willingly went to Mount Calvary to die for each one
of us. Do we not owe it to Him to accept this amazingly love filled
gift?
May
God bestow numerous blessings upon your ministry.
Rev. James Ray Finchum Jr.
Director of Operations http://www.requestprayer.org
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