GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer
spaldings, clarendon

Reverend Richard Young said being a pastor has humbled him.

Reverend Young is the pastor for the Peckham New Testament Church of God in Clarendon. He has been at the helm of that rural congregation for the past 18 months. Although he loves God's work, he said the experience has allowed him to remain down to earth.

"Being a pastor is a humble feeling. But it is a very challenging one as well, especially for the church I am at. It's not a big church; it's a small one as far as membership is concerned," said Young.

service of God

He said although the church is small, many challenges still exist. He adds that the interpersonal relationship among members is sometimes non-existent and he has to be working even harder than many of his colleagues in the service of God, to get this corrected.

Reverend Young said he has encouraged members to look out more for each other, pray for each other and express more affection for one another in the faith. He adds that these strategies have helped the members of his congregation to show improvements in their relationships over the past 18 months he has been there.

helping to build

Those strategies coupled with at least two months of prayer and fasting at his church each year have been helping to build his congregation as well as strengthen the spiritual growth there. Prayer meetings, he said, are not only held within the walls of the church, but according to the pastor, they are carried into the homes of the members. Family month which focuses on family life is also put in the mix of things.

"I believe that if we can work on the family, we can work on the church; and we can also help to build the society," said Young with conviction.

Reverend Young who has been a Christian for more than 12 years said the start of his walk with the Lord was not difficult. He attributed it to the fact that he grew up in a Christian home at Hector's River, Portland and attended the New Testament Church of God in that community.

"I grew up beside the church and we normally had the keys to open the church. I was baptised at the age of 12; but I cannot say when I got saved," said Reverend Young.

the Christian way

He explained that when he got baptised, he never understood a lot of things about the Christian way of life. He noted that no matter how old one is, whether a Christian or not, one will not understand everything.

Young said there are people who believe that those who follow Christ should start out being mature. He said, however, that even if someone was 99 years old and has just started to walk with Jesus, such an individual is starting out young in the faith. He added that it does not matter ones age, no one can ever be a mature Christian without starting out young.

Reverend Young attributed his interest in the Lord to the Christian life of his parents. Though his father who was a Christian struggled at times, he pointed out that his mother always showed that she loved the Lord; and the family devotions his family had on a regular basis helped to shape the kind of Christian individual he has become.

family devotions

Reverend Young is married to Davine and believes that family devotions are important because they help to unite the family.

"If God is not in the midst of it, then things are definitely going to deteriorate; but if God is there, they doesn't matter the struggles that you are facing, it doesn't matter the obstacles that are in your way, you can still stay together," said Young.