Graham West is what’s right with today’s youth.
West, a junior at University of Kentucky majoring in music performance, is taking classes at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and is serving as pastor of Woodbury Missionary Baptist Church in Morgantown.
And he is 19.
Just call him the Wonderkid.
‘Helping each other grow’
West, who has been preaching the past two years at churches in the Gasper River Association, said stepping into the role as senior pastor — only two years removed from being a senior in high school — has been an adjustment. But the church has shown him grace and even the previous pastor, who remains a member, has become one of his greatest resources.
“We’re all working together and helping each other grow,” he said. “I have the old pastor who still goes to church there. Sometimes [in churches] that doesn’t work out too well. But he’s been so gracious. He said, ‘You are the pastor now. I can sit back and be a church member like everybody else.’”
He said the calling to be a pastor from the Holy Spirit was “like that feeling of conviction, a different feeling. Something clicked from the first phone call. It was a quick turnaround because God was working in it.”
West, who came to faith at the age of 7 at Aberdeen Baptist in Morgantown, where his father serves as a deacon, has wisdom beyond his years. Mount Olivet, another church in the association, used him last summer and had him organize its Vacation Bible School.
“They have had an exponential amount of growth, and they wanted me to be their pastor,” he said. “With my schedule I couldn’t always be available. I told them they needed someone in the area.”
West has an apartment in Lexington when UK is in session and his parents live in Elizabethtown. At Woodbury, he preaches on Sunday mornings and does a Bible study on Sunday nights. The church has a program for youth and children on Wednesdays, so he only has to come on the weekends.
During the summer, when he does not have to be in Lexington, he is doing Bible studies with them on Wednesday nights, too.
Woodbury has about 30 to 40 attending while still recovering from the effects of COVID-19. Its former pastor, Merle Gray, is in his 80s and fully supports West.
“I was kind of nervous about that, but he’s been such a great resource,” West said. “Everybody has been so kind and willing to work with me.”
‘New perspective’
He said the transition from temporarily filling pulpits to being a pastor has been like getting into the fast lane.
“Being called to Woodbury put things into a whole new perspective,” he said. “I went from traveling a lot and going where I’m needed to be at a church where you’re needed all the time. It’s a way different speed.
“I tell people music was my first calling,” he said. “I did it throughout my childhood. But it’s not going to be my ending calling. I’m at UK right now and want to continue both tracks going forward. At UK, I can finish my master’s with an additional year. After that, I can get my master’s in ministry at Clear Creek. I always wanted to go as far as I can in education. But with all that, it would allow me to continue what I’m doing now (serving as pastor) because the master’s at Clear Creek is online, and it is competency based.”
Nobody will question West’s work ethic. Last week he organized and ran Woodbury’s first VBS in three years with strong attendance each night.
But wait, there is more. West not only serves as pastor but also the pianist at Woodbury. The church has a worship leader, he said. “They have been used to singing acapella and I said, ‘Let me play for you one time. I think you might like it.’”
They did. So now the songs of praise include the piano from this accomplished young man who then delivers God’s word to them.
He is a work in progress with emphasis on progress.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
