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Serving Princeton, Rosewood, Brogden, E. Johnston Co., W. Wayne Co., North Carolina |
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HeadlinesRosewood's Best named Wayne Co. Teacher of the Year Young pastor balances two churches as new Dad Smooth sailing for beginning of school year Clayton Harvest Festival scheduled Byrd, Thompson wed at Lane Tree Football: PHS defense strong in 14-0 loss to N. Moore Football: RHS even up with Southside shutout Volleyball: Rosewood opens with win Detention officer class at WCC Drought report from Extension Service
Photos This week's photo gallery Obituaries Mildred C. Denning, Barbara J. Everette, Gary C. Faircloth, Beulah E. Howell, Pamela A. Neil Movies War Local Showtimes
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Young pastor balances two churches as new DadBy Barry Merrill NL Publisher 29 August 2007 — How do you balance the responsibilities of going to school and pastoring two churches as a young husband and father? Rev. Joseph Franklin is likely to say, only with God’s hand upon you. His congregation at Sanders Chapel is likely to say, very well.
Rev. Franklin is in his second year as pastor at Sanders Chapel United Methodist Church on Brogden Road. He also pastors Pine Level United Methodist Church as part of a two-point charge student appointment. Joseph Franklin is a Rosewood native, the son of Joseph and Betty Franklin, who still live in one of the first homes in Holland Hills. He was raised in Pine Forest United Methodist Church. Like many tall young men in Rosewood, Joseph (who stands 6'1") started out in sports, playing soccer, golf and baseball. When he was in high school, however, other activities became important. He was drawn to the academic side of school, and his church was an important part of his life. He remembers that Kathy Kennedy came to the church and energized the youth group. Bobbi Clayton and Matthew Anderson, who served as youth pastor, also had big influences on him. He praised the Sunday School teachers and the pastors while he was growing up as relating to him and helping him to find his way. His youth group at the church, Methodist Youth Fellowship, was particularly important to him while he was still in high school. In 1999, he graduated from Rosewood High School, and in the fall enrolled at Wayne Community College to become a computer network specialist. September 11 deeply impacted Joseph, along with a girl he was dating, Tiffany Griffith. Tiffany is an Eastern Wayne High School graduate, an Iowa native, whose father was assigned to Seymour Johnson AFB. She was also attending Wayne Community College, where they met, while she was studying to become a Certified Medical Assistant. Joseph was serving as youth pastor at Pine Forest, and was working at Goldsboro Nissan as a service writer. After 9/11, both he and Tiffany felt their calling, as a couple, into full-time ministry. In the fall of 2002, Joseph began pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Religion at Mount Olive College. He completed the degree in 2005, and in the fall of that year, had planned to attend Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. His grandmother, who lives in Goldsboro, developed Alzheimer’s, so he instead entered Duke Divinity School. His work as youth pastor at Pine Forest was very influential. “We had t-shirts made up with big letters, “BC,” on them, standing for Becoming Christians,” Joseph relates. “That was what we were about. I tried to talk with them on their level, give them a chance to serve, and to think of Christianity as a way of life.” He relates that he is still close and involved with youth at the church. He has been excited to see them open up and evidence that serving God is not boring. Like many young people at that church, he was drawn to Contemporary Worship. He joined a Praise Band called Diverse Body, which brought together members of different churches. He played bass guitar and sang backup with the group, but stepped back to run the sound board for them, something which he says he enjoys. While Sanders Chapel is what many would consider a rural church, and one you would expect to be older and more conservative, Joseph blends in some contemporary music with the John Wesley hymns. On a recent Sunday he sang a solo, playing his acoustic guitar, prior to his sermon, to help communicate the message. “I can worship at any setting,” Joseph maintains. “What I find important is that worship is genuine.” To offer different styles of worship, once a month they have a Contemporary service. It might be a prayer service, for example, rather than following the traditional order of worship. A few months ago, Joseph was called to a new experience, as he participated in prison ministry at Eastern Correctional Institute near Maury. Along with about twenty other volunteers, Joseph spent an intensive 36 hours with residents, sharing testimonies and encouraging the men to find Christian community behind the walls of the prison. “It was amazing to see the transformation,” he relates. He is thankful for the many fine lay people at Sanders Chapel. He cited Alan and Cynthia Casey, Billy and Teresa Byrd, Bryan and Ann Hill, Walter and Gay Daughtry, Cynthia Carson (who puts out one of the best newsletters he has ever seen), youth Candace Tynes, and youth leaders Allison Byrd and Valerie Hill. Joseph will continue to attend Duke with classes on Tuesday through Friday, expecting to graduate in 2009. The rest of the week he is able to focus, at least most of the time, on church and family. Tiffany and Joseph were joined in marriage in June of 2004, and she is successfully adjusting to the role of pastor’s wife. He kids her about being “five foot nothing, but a lot of dynamite.” She now works at Princeton Pediatrics full time as a Certified Medical Asssistant. Fourteen months ago, God blessed their marriage with a son, Gabriel Matthew Franklin, whose name means God’s strength and God’s grace. He is starting to walk and talk, and he is the delight of his parents as well as a many in the congregation.
He’s one of the many important joys and responsibilities this young pastor tries to balance, with God’s hand upon him.
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