Pastor celebrates 40 years in Palmetto pulpit

Larry Pritchett might have cut his football teeth on legendary University of Alabama football coach Bear Bryant, who he continues to revere, but he felt an even higher calling in high school.

He knew then that he wanted to be a Baptist minister.

Pritchett preached his first sermon in 1967, the same year he graduated from high school near Huntsville, Ala. That sermon launched him toward a lifetime in the pulpit. He graduated from the University of Alabama at Huntsville in 1971, and from Southwest Seminary in 1973.

Aside from the first four years after seminary, he has spent all of his ministerial life — 40 years — as pastor at Palm View First Baptist Church, 415 49th St. E., Palmetto.

The Palm View congregation recently celebrated Pritchett’s longevity there, when he preached a sermon on Mother’s Day.

It’s a rare example of constancy, and devotion between a congregation and a pastor.

“Southern Baptist churches choose their own pastors,” said Jeff Sheffield, music and education minister at Palm View, adding that pastors typically stay at one church for about five years.

“It’s been an interesting ride for him to hang in there during the good times and the bad,” said Sheffield, who has teamed with Pritchett at Palm View since 1984. “This is a special thing.”

Pritchett, 68, who hews to a strict interpretation of the Bible, has no plans to retire, takes everything a week at a time, and has few regrets.

His favorite Bible verse is from John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Pritchett made a commitment to enter the ministry when he was 14, the night his mother died of a stroke at age 58. He was 14.

“The biggest disappointment in my life is that my mother never got to hear me preach,” Pritchett said.

Pritchett is uncomfortable talking about himself, and would rather the focus be on Palm View First Baptist, which started as a mission of First Baptist Church of Palmetto in 1954. The mission became a fully fledged church in April of 1958.

Inevitably, the conversation must come back to Pritchett, who has more time in the Palm View pulpit than the previous ministers combined.

“I just admire the congregation. I love these people,” Pritchett said.

Blake Whisenant is the only surviving deacon from when Pritchett arrived at Palm View.

“Blake has been my friend for 40 years. I see him at least once a week for his strength and wisdom. We talk and solve all of the world’s problems, but no one listens to us,” Pritchett said.

Of all of his congregation’s ministries, Pritchett is most proud of the North River Pregnancy Care Center. “That was born in our hearts,” said.

Pritchett and his wife of 46 years, Julia, are parents of two children, Jeff and January, and grandparents of five.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Pastor celebrates 40 years in Palmetto pulpit."