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Staff
Dr. W. Stephen Neel has been the pastor of South Columbia Baptist Church for 28 years. Born in Washington, D.C., Pastor Neel grew up in Maryland. He holds degrees from Washington Bible College, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife Nancy have three children: Jeremy, Joshua and Sarah. Pastor Neel's vision for South Columbia Baptist Church is that it be a worshiping, nurturing, and outreaching church.
Listen to and/or download Pastor Steve's Weekly Sermons
Terry Rudd - Minister of Education and Outreach  E-mail TerryBorn in Dallas Texas, the son of a gas company supervisor, Terry lived most of his life in Texas and Oklahoma. Some family members believe the first inclination that God might have been calling Terry into the ministry was when, at the age of two, he stood in the pew and shook his finger and "preached" back at the pastor. The pastor, W.A. Rudd, was his grandfather.
At the age of nineteen Terry accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. This was a major turning point in his life. Prior to this he had been preparing for a career in medicine. He continued his studies and became active in the Baptist Student Union, a campus ministry. Terry graduated from Baylor University in December of 1976 with a B.S. in Biology as a Pre-Med major. In January of 1977, less than a month after graduating from Baylor, Terry entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the school of Religious Education. Upon completing the course of study for a Masters in Religious Education he graduated in 1979.
Terry stayed in the Ft. Worth area for several years working at a local hospital wondering why God had not allowed him to leave and serve in a church. It was during this period that Terry met and married his wife, Marcy. "God had a plan for my life, I just had to stay around long enough for everything to work out". Terry and Marcy married in 1982 and soon left for their first staff position with a church in Albany, Texas. Over the course of Terry's ministry God has given him the privilege of serving with churches in both Texas and Louisiana as Minister of Education and Youth. Most recently, he served as Minister of Education with Hillcrest Baptist Church in Nederland, Texas. Terry joined the staff of South Columbia Baptist Church as Minister of Education and Outreach in February of 2002.
Favorite verse: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20.
After graduating high school in Columbia, Missouri, Mitchell received a Bachelor of Music in Church Music from Southwest Baptist College, Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri and did additional graduate work in Vocal Pedagogy and Opera at the University of New Mexico. Mitchell, an ordained Minister of the Gospel, has served churches as Minister of Music in Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Maryland.
Mitchell is married to Pawnee, a native of Maryland. Pawnee also holds a degree from Southwest Baptist and has completed additional work in Vocal Performance at New Mexico State University. She has performed with opera and musical theatre companies in the U.S. Pawnee has led conferences as a drama consultant at the Southern Baptist Convention's national Music Leadership Week at Glorieta and Ridgecreast Conference and at the SBC National Drama Festival. She is sought after as an enthusiastic worship leader, solo dramatist, theme interpreter and inspirational speaker in regional and state Christian conference and retreat settings. She is also an avid writer and maintains a column in the Maryland/Delaware Convention of Southern Baptists newspaper.
Mitchell and Pawnee Camp have performed together as soloists and in partnership at such national conventions as the Southern Baptist Convention's Fall Festival of Marriage; National Opera Association annual meeting; numerous concerts, revival meetings and conferences including the annual state meetings and Evangelism Conferences of the Southern Baptist Conventions of Maryland/Deleware, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kansas/Nebraska, New Mexico and the Northeast Baptist Leadership Development Conference.
From the time I was six, my family has always gone to church. At the age of twelve, my father felt God calling him into the ministry and we moved to North Carolina where he attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Even though I was only twelve at the time, I thoroughly enjoyed going to classes with my father, trying to gain what knowledge I could about the Bible, ethics, or whatever he was studying at the time. When I was fourteen, my father finished school and accepted the call of Youth Pastor at our home church in Maryland. I didn’t grow up a “pk” (pastor’s kid) but the experiences I watched my father go through taught me many things about the ministry, particularly youth ministry. In high school I attended a small Christian school that challenged me to not only know what I believe, but, also, why I believe it. It was at this school that I felt God calling me into the ministry. Even at 17, the Lord laid it on my heart to work with youth, teaching them that they are not only the future, but, they are also the current. My high school experience was centered on sports. If I would have used my influence for glorifying Christ, the impact could have been phenomenal. Now that I am actively serving as a Youth Pastor, I consistently stress the point to youth that they are relevant today and that their decisions as youth will make a difference in the rest of their lives.
Feeling God’s call into ministry, I sought His direction in choosing the college I would attend. God clearly lead me to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. At Southeastern, I studied a variety of subjects with the Bible being the focus. While in school, I learned many things that have been very valuable to my ministry. One of the things I learned came from studying the history of ideas which helped me not only develop my philosophies but also helped me understand the places from which they came. Also, in Public Speaking, I learned to not only read scripture but how to read it effectively, trying to communicate the message and tone the writer was using. After three years at Southeastern, I graduated with an Associate’s of Divinity and my wife and I moved back to Maryland.
A few months after we moved back to Maryland, I accepted a call at Tri-CountyBaptistChurch in Damascus, MD. The summer of 2006 marked the beginning of full-time ministry for my wife and me. I enthusiastically began serving and preaching the Gospel along with the messages God had laid on my own heart. In ministry, I have tried to imitate Christ in building relationships and making disciples. Christ came to love, to save and to make disciples and He used relationships to do it all. At Tri-County, I was able to build some great relationships with the youth while teaching, preaching, coordinating and leading youth events. While at Tri-County, I was also able to connect with countless people who had been in ministry for several years. This wise counsel of ministers gave me numerous nuggets of valuable information. During my time at Tri-County, God began to open a new door for my wife and I at SouthColumbiaBaptistChurch in Columbia, MD. While I was sad to leave Tri-County, I knew that God had great things in store for me at South Columbia. Though I have only been at South Columbia a few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed working beside a well tenured staff with over fifty years of full-time ministry experience. Being able to learn from those who have been serving Christ from before I was born has provided a plethora of learning opportunities.
Lastly, my favorite, my marriage has taught me scores of lessons that easily apply to ministry. As I look back on almost five years of marriage, I can see that it has taught me dedication, how to communicate effectively, discipline, how to listen, and, most importantly, how to be a leader, both physically and spiritually. God has truly blessed me with a great wife who loves and supports me in anything I pursue. She moved to a state she had never seen before and then moved back home to a town she didn’t like all to support me in my ministry. Through this, I have learned the value of true support.
Overall, God has greatly blessed me. From having the opportunity to experience youth ministry in High School to giving me a great wife who supports me, I can truly say I am blessed. God has used all of these blessings to teach me many lessons that are very valuable to my ministry. As I continue in ministry, I confidently pray that God will continue to mold me into the minister that He wants me to be.
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