When Bro. David, Westmoreland, pastor of Vaiden Baptist Church, received a call from the Vaiden Baptist Pulpit Committee about taking the position as pastor, he knew he was led by God. The only problem was that he had no idea where God was leading him.
Westmoreland, who’s originally from Caledonia, had never heard of Vaiden.
“My wife and I had to Google it and find it on the map. I didn’t even know where it was,” Westmoreland said.
But, after meeting the congregation at Vaiden Baptist, he and his wife, Brenda, fell in love with Carroll County’s second county seat.
Westmoreland said after receiving the call, he knew that they were being called to Vaiden. So, they packed up their home and moved.
“When I first got here, everyone knew me, but I didn’t know them,” he said. “It’s been interesting connecting the families. You learn who is associated with what family and that’s how you get to know people.”
It took some adjusting though. Caledonia is just outside of Columbus and is a quick drive from various retail establishments and their favorite eating places. But in Vaiden, there’s a distance to get to some of those places.
Westmoreland said it’s the down-to-earth men and women of his congregation that make him feel like he’s been a Carroll County boy all his life.
“I love to hunt and fish and I have men and women in my congregation who love to do the same thing. I fit right on in,” he said.
It was a shock to him to learn that Carroll County still had dirt roads.
“Lowndes and Monroe counties don’t have any dirt roads, they paved all of their roads. But, when you see a car pull up with dust on it, you know there’s a dirt road somewhere. I had to get used to that.”
His wife, Brenda, is the children’s director at the church, and he said that’s where they want to focus.
“They’re our future church,” Westmoreland said.
He said ultimately, he and his wife are in Vaiden to do work of God.
“He’s revealing his plan for our lives slowly. The ultimate goal is to lead someone to Him that should be the goal for any Christian.”
