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ROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF PRIMITIVE OR OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST MINISTERS BY DAVID MONTGOMERY AND MARK GREEN:
ELDER ELEX "CLAYTON" NOWELL
Elder Nowell was born on January 5, 1957. He was baptized at Poplar SpringsPBC, Preston, GA by Elder Tommy Hart (Elder Laymon Farris, pastor, wasrecovering from auto accident). He was ordained on April 22, 1989 at Little FlockChurch, Madison County, ILL. He was married to Nancy Jewell Bond on July 26,1980 at Piney Grove Church, Headland, AL. Elder Laymon Farris performed theceremony. To this union three children, Timothy Clayton, Kenneth Elvin and Jonathan Oliver, were born.
ELDER NOWELL WRITES: Although I had been carried to church regularly, I did not really begin to hear what the preacher was saying until I neared the age of twenty. My experience certainly was not a Damascus Road experience. Rather, mine was more like the Lord opened my heart, ears, and eyes. Now sin was real, and I knew I was really a sinner. Then, the gospel became sweet to my soul. I soon offered myself to Poplar Springs Church.
In January 1985, we moved to San Antonio, Texas, and enjoyed a wonderful season with the brethren at East Side Church. For several years, I had been called upon to "introduce" services. The company I worked for moved us to St. Louis, Missouri in 1986. Soon after, I found myself being called upon regularly and in April 1989, I was ordained to the full work of the ministry.
Soon after ordination, I was called to pastor Mt. Tabor Church near Hurdland, MO, on the first and third Sundays. I had been filling in for them for over a year due to the failing health of their pastor, Elder Vernon Hopkins, from Carthage, IL. Also soon after ordination, Little Flock Church called me to be with them on 2nd weekends since their pastor, Elder James Harris, could only be with them on the 4th weekends.
Not long after this, Mt. Zion Church near Astoria, IL, called me to servethem on 4th weekends, I accepted and went about a year before giving upthe church. My reason for going so was because I felt my labors were"spread far too thin" and I should be concentrating my efforts in a community where I could truly "pastor" rather than just go preach. A couple of years later, I noticed at Little Flock, that when we had services on second and fourth Sundays, there was a good turnout of nonmembers. I found a general sentiment that if the church met more often, they would be there. I began to make this known to the membership and many of them desired to meet every Sunday. So I resigned the church at Mt. Tabor, preached mostly at Little Flock, and attended the same on the fourth Sunday.
It wasn't long before Elder Harris began to recommend to LittleFlock that I be called as pastor. Though we missed Elder Harris, we wereblessed with several years of having the privilege of "pastoring" onechurch every Sunday rather than driving a lot of miles and preaching forthem.
In January 1995, we began to feel our time at Little Flock was ending.We declined the call of the church in 1996 and began accepting invitationsto other churches. After receiving much evidence of the Lord’s leading
and specific answers to prayers we accepted the call of Liberty Church near Smithville, Georgia in February 1997 and moved three weeks later. |
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