Rev. Charles Wilson retired from his role as senior pastor of Mt. Elon Baptist Church on April 26. Wilson had served at the church since 2014, when he was originally called as interim pastor. The church called him as their senior pastor the following year. His time at Mt. Elon included the significant life milestones of losing his first wife to breast cancer in 2020, followed by his marriage to Helen, a church member, in July 2022.
“I have planted some deep roots at Mt. Elon. I have had wonderful friendships and a lot of opportunities for ministry,” Wilson says. “We have had some really good days and saw people come to know the Lord.”
Wilson was called out of retirement to pastor the congregation at Mt. Elon. During his almost 50 total years in ministry, Wilson served in Mississippi before being called to Nixville Baptist in Estill. He was then called to First Baptist Langley for 10 years before retiring in 2013 from Holland Avenue in Cayce, where he led for almost 25 years. Each of his pastorates, including Mt. Elon, were “unique, good churches, and places I loved to serve.”
Wilson recalls seeing the Wednesday night Bible study at Mt. Elon double in attendance during his tenure, but prefers to talk about the souls saved and the lives that were changed as a result. He recalls the family that suddenly lost an adult son several years ago. The wife attended Mt. Elon but Wilson says the husband didn’t want anything to do with church until he began attending services several weeks after the son’s death. He soon prayed to receive Christ, was baptized, and now serves as a deacon who never misses church.
Wilson was touched by Mt. Elon’s generosity when son Rich and his family were called to serve as missionaries to Africa several years ago. He says church members supported 25 percent of the family’s needs for that mission because “that’s just the kind of church they are.”
As Wilson reflects on his lifetime of ministry, he is thankful for the opportunities to provide hands-on ministry like visiting members in the hospital or sitting with them in rocking chairs on their front porch. The chance to provide one-on-one ministry has surpassed his desire for preaching or teaching throughout the years and now, Wilson says, he wouldn’t trade those interactions for anything.
“There were a lot of lives that were touched during my time at Mt. Elon, and I pray that the new pastor will reap some of the seeds we’ve sown. I am praying for the committee to find the right person who is willing to go in and take the church to the next step,” Wilson says.