Pastor Paul B. Chandler, Jr. Honored for 70 Years of Gospel Ministry

Pastor Paul B. Chandler, Jr., of Flat Rock, N.C., at age 17 was on his way to preach his first sermon at a youth rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when he heard the news on the radio that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. He felt that the country would soon be entering into World War II, and he knew that many of the young people to whom he would be preaching could possibly be going into battle. The text of his first sermon was from Romans 12:1 and 2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Eighteen young people made professions of faith in Christ at that service. His first wife, Esther Lillian Allen (Chandler), was in attendance at that service.

After he returned home from World War II, they were married for almost 53 years before she went home to be with the Lord. They had four daughters, Pamela Chandler Evans, Janice Chandler Worth, Sharon Chandler Wilking, and Susan (Susie) Leigh Chandler. Three of their daughters married ministers. Precious Susie, their much loved daughter with Downs Syndrome, went home to be with the Lord, December 11, 2007.  His second wife, Betty King Chandler, has been his helpmeet for the past eleven years. He has been blessed with her three children, Cheryl, Cathy and Bruce, and shares with her the joy of 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Pastor Chandler was honored recently for his 70 years in the ministry of his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is currently the pastor of Upward Baptist Church, and has pastored several churches in Western North Carolina during the time of his ministry. The Upward Baptist Church honored him with a surprise reception on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Many of his family and friends were able to attend this celebration, including his daughter Janice and her husband Steve, missionaries to England and Scotland, home on a brief furlough.

One of his former churches, Dana Baptist Church, had him preach for their morning worship service on the Sunday closest to his seventieth anniversary, Sunday, December 4, 2011, followed by a reception in his honor in the church fellowship hall. Pastor Chandler felt called to preach under the ministry of Pastor William R. Newell, and he preached his first sermon when he was only 17 years old.

At Dana Baptist he preached from the same text that he preached at his first sermon. He plans to continue to preach for as long as the Lord enables him to do so. To God be the glory for this wonderful privilege of sharing God’s Word and preaching the gospel for seventy years!