Megachurch pastor finds new calling at Valleydale

When Valleydale Church’s former pastor left to plant a new church in Atlanta two years ago, the congregation began its search for a new pastor.

As a church with an average attendance of 800 or so, it never dawned on them to go after a pastor at a megachurch, said Greg Graves, who served as chairman of the search committee. But that’s where they ended up.

Mac Brunson, who joined Valleydale as its new senior pastor in July, has served as the lead pastor at two churches that are among the 75 largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention: First Baptist Church Dallas and, more recently, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville (Florida).

Jacksonville, where Brunson served for 12 years until this past May, has an average attendance between 4,000 and 5,000 people.

Brunson brought a co-pastor on at Jacksonville in early 2016, so the church could have a smooth transition to a new leader whenever he decided to leave. In April of this year, he announced the time had come.

Valleydale leaders had started talks with Brunson late last year, seeking advice on their search. It was more of an advisory role at first, both Graves and Brunson said.

“But the more we spoke with Mac, the more we fell in love with him, and he fell in love with us and felt that’s what God had in store,” Graves said.

Brunson said he had been offered a teaching position at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary but felt his calling was to be in a church. While on a trip to teach pastors in the Philippines in May, he felt God confirmed Valleydale was the place for him and his wife, Debbie, Brunson said.

He arrived in July, and the church has been warm, encouraging and welcoming, he said.

“Now that I’m not in a megachurch, I can actively be a part of ministering instead of directing ministry, which is huge for me,” he said. “I had no idea how much I missed ministering in a smaller setting.”

But “never let anybody tell you a small church is less work,” Brunson said. “I am working harder right now than I have in a long, long time.”

Brunson was called into the ministry while at Furman University. After college, he worked in his family’s furniture store before becoming pastor of First Damascus Baptist Church in Greenwood, South Carolina. The church had 12 members and had not baptized anyone in five years when he started. Within 16 months, he baptized 55 people.

He then went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth for three years, followed by seven years each at South Norfolk Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia; Green Street Baptist Church in High Point, North Carolina; and First Baptist Dallas. First Baptist Jacksonville came next.

Valleydale has a great, young staff and young congregation, Brunson said. “I feel called to pour myself into them, … strengthening families and helping train the next generation.”

He’s also motivated. “I feel like I’m really able to teach people here and do something that will make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

The people at Valleydale may have the strongest sense of community he’s ever seen in a church, Brunson said. There are always people at the church, whether meeting in Bible studies, working out in the church gym or doing something with the church preschool, he said. “They’re committed. They love each other.”

Graves said the Valleydale search committee was looking for someone who was, first, a strong preacher and, second, a strong pastor. And every time they talked to Brunson, he had just been visiting someone in the hospital or spending time with a church member.

“The fact he accomplished that in a setting as big as Jacksonville really spoke to the hearts of the people involved at the time,” Graves said.

They wondered whether Brunson would ever consider a smaller church like Valleydale, he said. “It seems unusual to men, but in God’s mind, it might have been just perfect,” Graves said, “and we trust it was.”