Dr. Micheal S. Pardue Sr., who is the president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, is speaking at Weldon Baptist Church Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Daniel Fellowship Hall.
The church is located at 609 Washington Avenue.
A complimentary lunch provided by the church's hospitality committee is included in the event's free program. Face masks are optional and social distancing will be observed.
Weldon Baptist Pastor Francis Kyle said Pardue will speak on the topic of Obedience to God’s Commandments: The Christian's Response to Our Secular Age.
He is the fourth guest speaker in Weldon Baptist's Uncommon Christian Speaker Series which began in July.
For three consecutive years — 2020 through this year — Pardue is the elected president of the state's largest Baptist association. Formed in 1830 in Greenville, Baptists now consist of about 4,300 churches and have their administrative offices in Cary.
Since 2013, Pardue has been pastoring First Baptist Church Icard in Connelly Springs. The denominational leader and author of six books has spoken throughout the United States and overseas while parenting seven children with his wife Rachel.
"What a joy and privilege to host Dr. Pardue," said Kyle, who is also Weldon Baptist’s scholar-in-residence and a 2021-23 North Carolina Baptist Historical Committee member. "May many be blessed by this rare visit by a North Carolina Baptist president to rural Halifax County. According to our more longtime members, this is likely the first-ever visit to 157-year-old Weldon Baptist by a North Carolina Baptist president. Historic and exciting. And what a relevant topic he will be addressing."
Weldon Baptist was formed at the end of the Civil War by the then 26-year-old Confederate chaplain — 61st Virginia Infantry — Joseph Franklin Deans — 1839 to 1903.
The founding of the Southern Baptist Convention precedes Weldon Baptist's by 20 years. The SBC began in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia. Though an autonomous local church, Weldon Baptist voluntarily supports and works in cooperation with the SBC, NC Baptists and the Rocky Mount-based North Roanoke Baptist Association.
For more information about Pardue, visit michealpardue.com.
Included on the website is his February 6-8 speaking schedule for eastern North Carolina that also includes engagements in Ahoskie, Clayton, Conway, Jacksonville and Roanoke Rapids.
He will be at Ashley’s Grove Baptist Church in Northampton County Sunday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Calvary Baptist in Roanoke Rapids Sunday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
For details on the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, see ncbaptist.org.
Weldon Baptist is on Facebook at this link and can also be contacted at 252-536-3836.
