Answering the call

Spencer Bell, 22, is the first full-time pastor at Hartselle’s Mr. Zion Baptist Church since 1853.

For the Enquirer

Before every sermon and Bible study, Spencer Bell kneels in his church office and prays.

“I ask the Lord to do two things: fill me with his spirit and use me for his glory,” Bell said. “I always get nervous when I preach because it is a very holy thing. One of my mentors, Rev. Bobby Ray Halbrooks, told me, ‘If you don’t get nervous before you preach you need to find something else to do.'” At 22 years old, Bell, the first full-time pastor at Hartselle’s Mt. Zion Baptist Church since 1853, is one of north Alabama’s youngest pastors.

It is a calling the brown-haired, bespectacled young man with a sing-song voice reminiscent of the Rev. Billy Graham, initially ignored.

“I wanted to be the president of the United States. That was my life’s goal. I wrestled with the call into ministry for a few years. Bobby Ray Halbrooks used to call me his associate and said I was going to be a preacher and all of my teachers thought I was either going to be a preacher or politician. Several have said, ‘We are thankful you chose the higher calling,'” Bell said with a laugh.

At 16, while attending Hartselle Camp Meeting – where hundreds have been saved – Bell devoted his life to the ministry.

“The Hartselle Camp Meeting is one of those special places that the Lord has moved in powerful ways over the years. A lot of people have been called to the ministry and a lot of people have been saved there. It was that place for me. It’s where the Lord’s spirit spoke to me,” Bell, who grew up in Hartselle, said.

An hour-long sermon by Jon Tal Murphree about Jonah and the whale and running from God spurred Bell to accept his calling.

“I remember Jon Tal Murphree’s wife was so irritated that he preached an entire hour. I’ve always thought that I don’t care how long someone preaches because the Lord can even use long sermons. He did on me that night,” Bell said.

Under the tutelage of Halbrooks, Bell preached his first sermon at First United Methodist Church in Hartselle, now known as First Methodist.

“I didn’t know the first thing about preaching. I was not a great communicator. My first sermon was on Proverbs 3:5-6. It had four points, lasted 20 minutes and was awful. I have a recording of it somewhere and I need to throw it away,” Bell said.

The more Bell preached, the better his sermons became. He learned how to structure sermons by listening to Adrian Rogers, Jerry Vines, Ron Dunn and W.A. Criswell.

After a year preaching at Methodist churches, Bell felt a pull to the Baptist denomination.

“I love my Methodist brethren, but I felt the Lord was calling me to the Baptist doctrine,” Bell said. For guidance, Bell reached out to the late Hartselle evangelist Junior Hill.

“My grandmother did one of the covers for his first book. Junior Hill encouraged me, mentored me and put me in touch with Michael Mason, a Methodist evangelist. Those men, along with Walter Blackman of East Highland Baptist and Bobby Ray Halbrooks really mentored me and formed me.” After visiting several churches, Bell attended Mt. Zion.

“When I came through the doors, it’s not like the Lord spoke audibly. It was not a burning bush moment, but it was like the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said this is where you’re going to be,” Bell said At 18, Bell accepted his first assignment as interim pastor at Gum Springs Baptist.

“They were so patient with me and so kind. My last Sunday there, they gave me a pastor plaque and the entire church signed the back of it,” Bell said.

That plaque now sits in his office.

For the next year and a half, Bell served as a full time evangelist, preaching at revivals, conferences, harvest days and camp meetings.

At the end of 2021, Bell received an offer to serve as a full time associate pastor of evangelism and missions at Sagamore Baptist in Fort Worth, Texas. A seminary there, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, offered to hire Bell and assist with his tuition.

“It was a very generous offer. But as I was on the plan to Fort Worth, I said, ‘Lord, I don’t know if I can do this,'” Bell said.

After both the lead pastor of Sagamore and the president of the seminary encouraged Bell to continue his own ministry, Bell did the only thing he knew to do – he prayed.

“I told the Lord I needed a word. I opened the Bible, it opened to Hebrews 12 and two words popped off the page, ‘Mount Zion.’ I knew what the Lord wanted me to do,” Bell said.

In August 2022, six months after Bell submitted his name to the pastor search committee, the church asked him to serve as the full-time pastor.

Bell’s service goes beyond the church walls. He has worked on international missions, served as a member of the Hartselle Historical Society board, Terrell Industries board, Hartselle for Tomorrow Foundation and is the current president of Harstelle’s Rotary Club.

“I believe you need to be involved with the community. Ministry is not done in the office now, it is done among the people,” Bell said. “I always try to be plugged in with bigger things because it expands the church’s ministry and it shows the church that we are not a church here for us, we are a church here for the community.” While serving the church and the community, Bell also is continuing his education.

Bell, a graduate of Calhoun Community College, Athens State and Southwestern Seminary, will complete his master’s in divinity, apologetics and philosophy from Southern Seminary next semester. In the fall of 2025, Bell plans on starting New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s doctoral program.

“I want to get my doctorate to be best equipped as I can to do whatever the Lord would want me to do later on,” Bell said. “But I am also very content to pastor the rest of my days and love on people. I enjoy it.”

One-on-one with Spencer Bell

Did you grow up going to church?

“I grew up at both First Baptist and First Method-ist in Hartselle. We lived around the corner from First Methodist. I used to walk to the morning service because I had grown attached to the associate pastor, Bobby Ray Halbrooks. The church was the one place I really felt where I was able to engage with people. It was my forte.” What is your favorite verse?

“Philippians 1:6. ‘Be confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.’ I live my life by one word, ‘Unfinished.’ One of the major downsides of being a pastor, when you retire, you haven’t really finished anything. God is always using you and working through you, but your work is never finished. The success of a pastor is faithfulness and working and laboring for Christ.” What Bible characters do you relate to the most?

“One is Peter. I’m a lot like Peter. I can put my foot in my mouth, but the Lord continues to offer me more grace. Another one is Paul.

I’ve always been fascinated by Paul. I really think if we met Paul, he wouldn’t be the greatest guy to be around. I don’t think he was the most charismatic, encouraging guy. I think he was somewhat of a pessimist. But Paul was an incredibly bold guy.

He is faithful, he labored for God, he was bold and compassionate. I want to make sure when I leave, I want people to say, he might have had his flaws, but there wasn’t a pastor that worked harder or loved us more than he did.

Heed the Call is an occasional series profiling local pastors and ministers. To nominate a pastor, email cgodbey@decaturdaily. com.