The Calling

Meet Reverend Nick Turner

Reverend Nick Turner grew up riding horses in Holly Springs in Overton County. His time joining a youth group began as a way to hang out with friends and play volleyball, but would eventually lead to him finding God. He discovered that he was able to step in front of…

16 Feb 2020 26 min

Meet Ted & Emily Stepp

Ted Stepp grew up in rural Eastern Kentucky before moving away - both to a new location, and away from the Lord due to being in a different environment, and succumbing to peer pressure at the time. It wasn't until the age of 18 that he finally understood his call…

2 Feb 2020 25 min

Meet Reverend Louis Davis

Louis Davis has spent the past several years of his life as a loving father of 7 daughters at home, and as associate pastor of Crossville First United Methodist Church. Unsure of where to go in life, he suddenly felt compelled to enter the ministry at the age of 15…

26 Jan 2020 26 min

Meet Reverend Christian Smith

Reverend Christian Smith grew up in Murfreesboro, one of five sons of a minister. He always had a good church background growing up, but never considered going into ministry until his teenage years. Around the age of 15, he asked God for a sign, and should one appear, he would…

19 Jan 2020 26 min

Meet Reverend Krislyn Durham

Growing up in Nashville, Reverend Krislyn Durham was the granddaughter of a preacher, and attended the same school that was her church. She originally would go on to attend Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville to pursue a degree in education with the intent to become a teacher, but she began…

29 Dec 2019 25 min

Meet Dr. Jason Groe

Dr. Jason Groe grew up as the grandson of a pastor in Murfreesboro. Despite not growing up directly in a preacher's family, he always felt the call to ministry from a very young age. At the age of 14 he became the interim pastor of a church in Woodbury when…

1 Dec 2019 26 min

Meet Reverend Lanita Monroe

Reverend Lanita Monroe grew up in Nashville, the youngest of three girls, to a pastor father and a Christian educating mother. Due to her father's career, church was like a second home to her, and if the doors were open, she and her family were there. At first, she never…

24 Nov 2019 26 min

Meet Dr. Jerry Huffman

Dr. Jerry Huffman grew up in Kentucky, the son of a Baptist preacher. He came from a family of pastors and missionaries, and as a teenager, he didn't want to be like everyone else in his profession. During college, he began to feel a call to ministry, but it wasn't…

17 Nov 2019 39 min

Meet Steven Lee

Steven Lee grew up in Waverly, TN coming from a long line of ministers. His paternal grandparents were traveling evangelists for the Church of God of Prophecy, and his father eventually felt the call to ministry later in his life when Steven was just a baby. Ever since he was…

10 Nov 2019 26 min

Meet Mike Waldrop

Mike Waldrop grew up in Georgia where he loved to play sports as a kid before growing up and joining the Air Force. He felt the call to go into ministry, and joined the Baptist Student Union in college, but his obligations and responsibilities with the Air Force took him…

3 Nov 2019 25 min

Meet Reverend Rick Frazier

Reverend Rick Frazier had a great childhood growing up in Nashville with a family that was very active and involved in church. Ever since he was a young boy, he could sense a call to ministry that persisted all the way through high school. He would go on to further…

27 Oct 2019 26 min

Meet Reverend Michael McLaughlin

Knoxville native and UT graduate Michael McLaughlin found work in Kentucky in the mental health field where he and his wife started attending First Presbyterian Church in Somerset, KY. What began as helping out with the youth Sunday school led to Michael becoming involved with more and more church activities…

13 Oct 2019 27 min

Meet Tim Dunavant

Tim Dunavant went from having a church filled life growing up in a small town to living in Nashville where his family stopped going to church, and all things religious fell to the wayside. At the age of 17, he began experimenting with alcohol and drugs, which led to a…

6 Oct 2019 24 min

Meet John Purdue

John Purdue grew up in the college town of Lexington, Kentucky where he could ride his bike right into the campus of the University of Kentucky, and most of his neighbors were professors. Inspired by his experiences at church camp growing up, God led him to eventually make the switch…

22 Sep 2019 29 min

Meet Mark Gaw

Born and raised in Cookeville, Mark Gaw made the decision to not go into his family's real estate business due to a lack of passion. Leading music in church was where his passion lied, and he spent 11 years as an Associate Pastor in Music. With the word of God…

15 Sep 2019 30 min

Meet Buddy Johnson

Buddy Johnson is the son of a preacher who, despite being inspired by his father's storytelling and preaching abilities growing up, remained adamant that he would not follow in his father's footsteps and go into ministry. One day he realized that the ministry was his calling, and would go on…

8 Sep 2019 26 min

Meet Scott Parkison

As a young man, Scott Parkison was a high school dropout who found himself in with the wrong crowds and down on hard times with a feeling that his life was going nowhere. On January 29, 1991, God came to him when he was at his lowest while he was…

1 Sep 2019 27 min

Meet Stephen Morrison

Stephen Morrison grew up in the Midwest inspired by the authenticity of his parents' faith regardless of any negative experiences they may have gone through while attending church during his youth. Considered a bit of a black sheep for his love to converse and ask questions about faith during a…

25 Aug 2019 26 min

Meet Verna Seager

Raised by her great grandparents in Greene County, Tennessee, Verna Seager was separated from her twin brothers for 39 years after her grandparents, who raised her brothers, passed away and the brothers were adopted. Verna was eventually reunited with her brothers thanks to the Salvation Army's missing persons department. During…

18 Aug 2019 24 min

Meet Father Brad Bates

Father Brad Bates had a rough childhood growing up in Georgia that led him to serve in the Navy. Having not been brought up in the church, he felt that he had an on and off relationship with God before finding salvation at the age of 22 after serving, and…

4 Aug 2019 24 min