Dr. and Mrs. Terry Duvall celebrated 30 years as pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church with a cake and a presentation of the "Heart of the Servant" award. The congregation at Macedonia Baptist Church recognized their pastor, Dr. Terry Duvall, for 30 years of service this month and gave him the "Heart of the Servant" award, too, created by the church to recognize Duvall's dedication.

"It was a really a huge surprise that they gave me the award," Duvall said. "I was shocked and very humbled. The scripture on it is Hebrews 6:10, which reads, 'For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.' Having grown up in a pastor's house, I know how rare it is to see someone stay at a church this long."

Duvall's entire tenure at the church has been in the position of pastor.

"It sounds strange to say it, but I never envisioned myself as a pastor while growing up," Duvall said. "Growing up with my father, I swore that a preacher was the one thing I'd never be. I got my political science degree and during my senior year in college, God began working on my heart and changing my mind. He touched my life and I knew that he was calling me to be a pastor."

Leading the church for three decades hasn't always been easy. Adapting to the congregation and attitudes in the community has been the most difficult thing for Duvall.

"The constant change is the hardest part," he said. "The membership and the community here have changed. But also, the religious climate here has changed. When I first came here, if you were a member of a church, you were here every time the doors were open. Now, Baptists have more money than they used to on average, and so people are taking trips and going on vacations and attending churches in other cities while they're away. I'm not saying this is bad, or wrong, it's just different than the way it was before."

The memories are perhaps Duvall's favorite part about his time at Macedonia.

"At 30 years, the biggest reward is seeing people grow up in the church, get baptized and then getting to perform their wedding," he explained. "And for some of the families at our church, I've also baptized their children and done their children's wedding. Doing a second generation wedding, is, wow, pretty amazing. But I've been blessed to have performed my brother's wedding, and soon I'll do his daughter's wedding."

Keeping the church relevant and fresh is one of Duvall's long-term goals.

"We focus a lot on teaching," he said. "Our teaching pastor, Jack Hambrick, does a lot of explanation for the congregation. We've also changed our Sunday evening service so that we have worship service first and then training sessions, all in one hour. And our church is involved with the community. We helped out with the Prom Bash at the high school because we feel it has a positive impact and we also help with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes."

For Duvall, working at the church is his mission in life.

"I want to thank this church for 30 wonderful years," he said. "I've been very fortunate to be blessed by the Lord. And this church is so open to new things that they are really being used by the Lord."