Photo courtesy of North Shelby Baptist Church.
Michael Meadows began as the new pastor at North Shelby Baptist Church in March and has only had one Sunday in the pulpit in front of the congregation before COVID-19 began.
After being named the new senior pastor at North Shelby Baptist Church, Michael Meadows was able to complete just one sermon before the COVID-19 started spreading and shutting down certain places, including churches.
His arrival came during an uncertain time, but amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he is trying to settle in. He said it’s been an unexpected way to start, but the staff and church family has helped ease the transition.
“It has been unusual, to say the least,” Meadows said. “When you start a new job, you have all of these thoughts and hopes for what you might accomplish, but God has a way of changing our plans. It has been hard to get to know and pastor people I have only met once or twice, but God has been good to us by giving us such a sweet church family to be a part of that has made things a little easier. The staff at North Shelby have also been a huge blessing with helping to navigate such a huge event so quickly into my ministry here.”
Even though the beginning of his time with North Shelby Baptist is being changed due to the outbreak of COVID-19, he said God was calling him there.
“Simply put, I felt God calling my family here,” he said. “I knew God was bringing my ministry to an end at my last church, and there were many options of where to go and what to do, but the Lord put a burden on my heart for the people of North Shelby Baptist that was undeniable.”
Meadows was the pastor at Central Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas, a town northeast of Houston, for eight years. Before that, he pastored in central Texas where he also served as a police officer. He also served in the military, joining at the age of 17 and becoming a sergeant in the Army by the time he was 20.
Meadows has been married to his wife, Trina, for 16 years. They have six children ranging from 18 months to 14 years old.
Beginning in ministry was never the plan for Meadows, but he said meeting his wife, who is originally from Alabama, helped him find his way into it.
“I was not raised in church and never had aspirations to be in ministry,” he said. “In fact, I met my wife when I was a part-time bouncer and still in the military, and she actually led me to Christ. I started in youth ministry and spent a lot of time as a police officer doing community-oriented policing. I never pursued ministry, but God kept opening doors that I felt I had to walk through which has led me to be here.”
It was during his early 20s that he came to know Christ as his savior, opening the door to helping him serve at his church and ministry options in the future.
While navigating his time at North Shelby Baptist Church, he knows one thing for sure: this is the right fit for him and his family.
“I am at a place in life like many people get to where you don’t want just any job, or the best job,” Meadows said. “Instead, you want the right fit. As I continued to feel led to be here, God confirmed time and time again that this was the right fit and the church agreed.”
