Sammy Odem

Elder Odem was born on December 26, 1953, in Runnelstown, Mississippi, to Brother and Sister William H. Odem. He grew up attending the Ideal Primitive Baptist Church near Hattiesburg, Miss and was baptized there at age fourteen by Elder Lonnie Mozingo, Sr. In November 1990, he married the former Laura Wicker. Elder Odem was ordained at Ideal Church in 1987 by Elders Lonnie Mozingo, Sr., Lonnie Mozingo, Jr., Steve Wilkinson, Lamar Wilkinson, R. B. Johnson, Jim Poe, Jerry Britt, Bob Brubaker, Thomas Floyd, B. T. Bishop, W. A. Bounds, and Russell Lewis. Elder Odem served the Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Miss as pastor for four years. In 2001, he served Ideal, Mt. Zion, and Mt. Hebron Churches.