Presbyterian Minister Will Fulfill Fulltime Duties
By Jack Gurner
Reporter
WATER VALLEY – First Presbyterian Church has a new pastor. Harold Spraberry and wife, Carolyn will be moving here from Southaven later this summer.
Rev. Spraberry, who has been coming to preach at the church every other Sunday for a year and a half, will assume-full time duties. An installation-ordination service will be held Sunday, June 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed by a reception at the education building. The public is invited, according to church officials.
This is the first full-time assignment for Spraberry who has been doing pulpit supply at churches around the area.
Spraberry grew up in Memphis and graduated from Whitehaven High School in 1969 and attended Mid-South Bible College from 1975-1979 where he received his BS. He did graduate work at the University of Memphis from 1979-1982 and attended Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary from 1987-1993 where he received his Master of Divinity.
Spraberry said that his goals as Pastor of First Presbyterian are to be “faithful to the Scriptures in my preaching and living.”
“I want to be true to the historic reformed faith as it is articulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith,” he added. “And, I want to be obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to the Church which reduces down to essentially evangelism and discipleship under the authority and by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Spraberry retired after 29 years with Federal Express in Memphis where he worked as a ramp agent. Carolyn has been a first grade teacher for 28 years.
The couple have two children, Sarah, 22, and Andrew, 19.
Sarah just graduated from Mississippi College and is working at a law firm in Jackson. She plans to attend graduate school – possibly law school – and intern with Reform University Ministries in the fall, according to her father.
Andrew just finished his freshman year at Ole Miss in accounting.
First Presbyterian Church is one of over 1400 churches in the Presbyterian Church of America.
Background Of The PCA
The PCA has a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work at home and abroad, and to Christian education. From its inception, the church has determined its purpose to be “faithful to the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.”
Organized at a constitutional assembly in December 1973, this church was first known as the National Presbyterian Church but changed its name in 1974 to Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It separated from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) in opposition to the long-developing theological liberalism which denied the deity of Jesus Christ and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Additionally, the PCA held to the traditional position on the role of women in church offices.
