|
Serving Princeton, Rosewood, Brogden, E. Johnston Co., W. Wayne Co., North Carolina |
|||||
HeadlinesPastor Jeff Windley leads New Millennium Meet this year's Princeton Board candidates News Leader subscription rate increase Princeton championship Dawgs, take two Don't get roped in by shady rebate offers Johnston Memorial honors local EMTs Photos Obituaries Movies Hairspray Local Showtimes
|
 |
Pastor Jeff Windley leads New MillenniumBy Barry Merrill NL Publisher 25 July 2007 — A “new” Princeton church is seeking to connect with the hurting in our community as they live out their faith. New Millennium Church of God in Christ relocated to Princeton from Micro earlier this year in the old Princeton Graded School. According to Pastor Jeff Windley, the church is excited to be in Princeton and by the many opportunities here, but they see a lot of work before them.
The pastor shared last week that the church has had its shares of troubles. When he came to the church in 2000, he filled Selma's Harris Chapel's pulpit on an interim basis, after their pastor suddenly passed away. After the church decided Pastor Windley should continue as the permanent pastor, he found the church in legal disputes over the church property. While the church won some of the disputes, ultimately they did lose one of the court battles and had to move. At that time, they decided to change the name to New Millennium and moved to a building in Micro. It wasn’t long until the building they were meeting in was sold to a new owner. Pastor Windley praises Elaine Mabson, who owns the old Princeton Graded School building, for allowing the church to meet in her building. “She has been a blessing to us.” A few weeks ago some well-meaning people in his church tried to do a fund-raiser, and it was not handled properly. He regrets any problems that may have occurred as a result. One of his key lay leaders tried to organize a pastor’s anniversary fundraiser for the church and as a gift for the pastor. Pastor Windley was not aware of the “surprise,” which involved selling eight-packs of Coca-Cola products. When the church was not able to sell a certain number of Cokes, the drink distributor cancelled the promotion, and the church has been offering refunds. Since being made aware of what was going on, Windley has stressed to his congregation to make sure that any activity or fundraiser done in the church’s name has safeguards in place and is handled in a good, professional manner. Jeff Windley was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Washington, NC. He graduated from Washington High School, where he played with Dominique Wilkins, and joined the Marine Corps Reserve. He also married while serving the Marines. He worked for a period as a welder while in the Marines, and then worked for PCS Phosphates as a computer operator and team leader for the fertilizer firm. It was during this last job that he heard the call into the ministry. Since that time, he has worked in prison ministry, jailhouse ministry, street ministry, and radio and television evangelism, prior to and since coming to Johnston County. Street ministry is a calling that the pastor still feels, and wants to further explore. “I like setting up a tent and passing out tracts, with other members of the congregation,” he says. He also noted that he has worked with gang members in Selma, encouraging them to work to aid senior citizens in that area.
His partner in ministry, his right hand, is his wife, Clarissia. He met her in the 4th grade, and then when they were in 9th grade, took her out under a big tree to tell her his plans for their lives: marriage, a nice house, and three children, and to live their lives out together. He proudly says they have been married for 26 years, over a quarter of a century, and she has that house and three wonderful children. They also have five grandchildren, with another on the way. He also shares that being in the ministry can take tolls on a marriage. Clarissia has started a clothing ministry, connecting with one of the area clothing outlets to distribute clothes at no charge to needy in the area. They hope to have another clothing day in the next week or two. The church has also given out meals on holidays. Clarissia is also quite a cook, taking first place with her apple pie at a recent Selma Railroad Days They are proud of their children: Jeffrey Jr. has begun with the Kenly Police Department, while his brother, Montrell, works at Wal-Mart in Smithfield, and the oldest, Relisha, is a teller at BB&T and lives in Selma. Relisha has also been a strong supporter of the church and he describes her as “highly anointed and has a way with people.” Jeff works during the week, serving as a teacher's assistant at Smithfield-Selma High School, and he also works with an abstinence program (sex, drugs and alcohol) through Social Services. Pastor Windley sees the church as a ministry of help to all races, all people. “We see ourselves as a multi-cultural church. While we are predominantly black, I want us to break that, I want to have Hispanics and Caucasians to be a part of us in worship, and to function together.” He notes they have had six people join the church over the past two months. Two of those were from Princeton, but their members come from as far away as Fayetteville and Raleigh. One of their new initiatives is a GED program, which they hope to offer at the old school building through Johnston Community College. They need to have ten sign up to put the class at the school this fall. He says that many in the community were raised in a church and have connections to those churches, but he hopes that those who are interested in making a change or finding a church will “check us out.” New Millennium meets for Sunday Service at 11 a.m., and for teaching on Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Back to this week's News Leader
|
|
Wayne Wilson News Leader
|
||
|
||||||
|
|
|||||
