FBC Mebane’s Sunday morning service ends the same way each week. Pastor Sammy Ballard begins the closing words, and the congregation joins in, their voices carrying through the sanctuary:
“May the road rise to meet you, the wind be at your back, the sun shine softly on your face, and until we meet again, know that I love you, but God loves you more. May He hold you in the palm of His hand. Have a great week, everybody!”
These words have become a familiar refrain. They offer insight into Ballard’s leadership at the church.
The role of pastor is, of course, one of the most visible in church ministry, and at FBC Mebane, Ballard takes that responsibility seriously. “My role is to be spiritual leader, shepherd of the flock,” he says. “I also try to be an example for all the things we need to do to be good citizens to our community.”
Ballard has a strong vision for reaching others, and that’s foundational in his leadership, too. “My whole goal is to shout the name Jesus to everybody and represent it in a church community,” he says. “To preach on Sunday and lead Monday through Saturday.”
Journey to Church Leadership
His journey to church leadership was not typical for a pastor. A sales professional with political science and business classes under his belt, he was always an active member of the church community, volunteering whenever he could.
“With John Fladeland’s leadership, we started a Bible study for men, and we did that for 16 years every single week,” Ballard says. Even though he didn’t know it at the time, that was part of his preparation for leading the church.
He also got involved with the local FCA and helping out with the schools. “When we hired Tripp Foltz as youth pastor, I got really involved with the youth,” Ballard adds. When Foltz later moved on, Ballard stepped in to lead the youth until another youth pastor was hired. He’d applied for the full-time role himself but lost out to someone more qualified and simply continued volunteering however he could.
In 2017, a door opened unexpectedly—the lead pastor position. While he was still working as the In-School Suspension (ISS) Coordinator at Eastern Alamance High School, Ballard volunteered to preach for a month to save the church the cost of a fill-in. Then, when the only ordained staff member retired, the deacon board asked him to continue in an interim role during the search for a new lead pastor.
“I came in thinking I was just going to preach on Sundays and Wednesdays,” Ballard says. “But the very first week I got here, the Board Chairman came in and handed me staff evaluation sheets. He said, ‘It’s not really fair, but we have to have this for our books.’ And I prayed about it—’Do you really want me to do all of this? You just wanted me to preach, right?’ And the answer I got was, ‘If you’re going to do this, do it all. Don’t just step your toe in it.’”
Leadership That’s Helped the Church Move Forward
And so he did. Ballard stepped in during a difficult time for the church, with a desire to be part of the healing.
In mid-September of 2017, he led a ceremony that symbolized commitment—a renewal of vows between the church and Jesus Christ. “It was a wedding for the church and Jesus, a time of renewing our vows as the Bride of Christ with the head of the church,” Ballard says. “We were making that commitment again. Ever since that time, we’ve been on a path of goodness. We don’t know all the answers. We’re not perfect all the time, but we’ve really been blessed.”
That ceremony reflected what has become a defining part of Ballard’s leadership: following the leading of the Holy Spirit. “I feel like the reason I’m still here today is because I continually try my best to let the Holy Spirit lead whatever we’re doing,” he says. “It’s never me. If you were just depending on me, we would be a failure. Even to this day, when I walk in this office, there are a lot of times I have no clue what I’m doing.”
Developing Disciples Together
He’s not a typical pastor. He doesn’t dress like a preacher either. But Ballard’s heart is to reach more people in the name of Jesus Christ, and preferably while working alongside other pastors and churches in the community.
“We want to be a HOT ministry — Honest, Open and Transparent,” he says. “We’re not perfect people, but we serve a perfect God. We want to mean it when we say, ‘everybody’s welcome.’ We want to try and be as generous as possible for everything that is a need. And we want to develop disciples.”
That commitment to discipleship became especially clear last year when FBC Mebane adopted Mt Adar Baptist Church—now renamed New Life Church.
“I’m very excited about them being a part of us and us all being in the ministry together,” Ballard says. “And it made me feel really good when I started asking for people to speak out there. I was thinking I might get four people so we could rotate every fifth week. But we ended up with 21 different speakers last year.”
It was a tangible example of discipleship at work. “It takes a little bit of courage to get up and preach the sermon,” says Ballard. “For people to say, ‘Hey, look, I’ve learned enough, I’ve seen enough, I’ve studied enough, and I’ve been Spirit-led enough that I’ve got a word for people. And if Sammy can do it, I know I can. I’m actually very proud of that.”
Serving in the Growing Mebane Community
One of the things Ballard is most excited about is having opportunities now to reach Mebane, north to south. The church has purchased property at the corner of Gibson and Third and is seeking God’s provision and the timing for building there.
“I’m trusting in God to do whatever He’s going to do, because we’re going to need His provision,” says Ballard. “The thing that excites me about the location of the property is there are two new communities coming to that area in walking distance of our property, and there are already two fairly large developments there. The mission field is going to be humongous, and we’re going to have opportunities to serve the community, but we also have an opportunity to share with the entire community of Mebane new and old to reach the next generation. I want Mebane, North Carolina, to be known as a Christian community.”
United in Service
That vision for Mebane starts with the people already serving in the church today.
“The staff we have here at the church aren’t just employees,” Ballard says. “They’re not just co-workers. They’re actually friends, and we feed off each other, and we try to lead the whole church together—even though we don’t always all get along.”
That sense of shared commitment is felt throughout the congregation. “We have a church of committed people that do so many things that people don’t ever see,” he adds. “My mantra has been for years that I came in as the most inexperienced, unqualified pastor I’ve ever known. But I came to a church that had experienced the love of God and a commitment to the walk. They’re true disciples. I walked into something that was totally awesome, and I don’t take that for granted. The church has been so loving and so kind and encouraging and willing. Most of the time!”
Because of that foundation, Ballard is hopeful. “I’m excited about where we are, where we’re going, and how we’re reaching the next generation and looking after our neighbors.”
