“I was grateful that God would bless me to lead His church,” Anthony Watson said about his feeling when he was selected as the pastor of First Baptist.
Watson came to Taylor in 1998 as the new pastor of The First Baptist Church. On Sunday, July 23, the church will celebrate the anniversary of the pastor during the 10:45 a.m. service.
Over the previous 25 years, Watson said the souls that have been won and the lives that have been touched through the word God has given him is a major accomplishment. He added that having an opportunity to watch people grow and become and stay successful is part of the ongoing accomplishments he has seen. “Young kids watching and knowing they can be more than what they are and they are worth more than what people give them credit for and seeing them going forward and working in the church doing great things in their lives,” Watson said. “That is the greatest accomplishment to me.” When Watson was selected to lead the church, he brought along his family, including his wife, Michelle Watson.
“Beside this great man, is a great woman,” Watson said about the church’s first lady.
Watson said his wife wasn’t called to First Baptist, but was drafted because she is his wife.
“She not only has accepted it, she has embraced it,” he said. “It means the world to me to know that I’m on this journey being led by the lord, but I have a help mate with me all along the way.”
As a leader, Watson knows his congregation needs to be able to trust him. During his tenure in Taylor, one thing has remained the same, him.
“I’ve been the same as I was when I first got here,” he said. “When you’re transparent, what you see is what you get. There are no hidden agendas. There’s nothing being done under the cloak of darkness ... Who I am Sunday morning, is who I am Monday through Saturday.”
Out of the 26 pastors that have led First Baptist, only three have eclipsed 11 years, including Watson. The majority of tenures ended in five years. Pastor Elliott Brown made it 11 years, Pastor TL Rivers made it 24 and Watson stands with the longest tenure at 25.
“When I think about being faithful, when I think about God not only using me, but God doing what He said,” Watson said, “the faithfulness that I have showed to Him, He has returned in the blessing that He has given unto me.”
