“To be continued….”

Those words, which always point to the future, are usually used at the end of a narrative, but Mike Chandler has chosen to use them as his daily guide, encouraging himself and others both to continue following positive paths and to seek new adventures.

For ten years, Mike served as the Senior Pastor of Summit Community Church in Morganton, where the membership continued to grow at a time when many churches suffered from low attendance.

“I was not aware of it at the time, but I can chase my path all the way back to high school,” says Mike. “Even then, I was learning skills that I still use today. After graduation, I thought I would prefer attending a small college. I had enjoyed participating in the choral clinic that Mr. Jim Williams had taken us to at Mars Hill University, and I liked the school very much, so I enrolled there. I stayed one year and then tried attending Appalachian State for a semester. Clearly, a university was not what I needed at the time, so I worked for a while with my dad in the body shop, then was employed for eight months in the shipping department at Drexel Knitting Mill, followed by a job delivering appliances from Better Homes in Valdese. It was during that time, September 1984 specifically, when I felt a strong call to go into the ministry. Now that I had a real mission and a goal, I returned to Mars Hill, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in religion.”

While in school, Mike had worked part time as a student pastor in Asheville, so he had some church experience when he moved back to Burke County. He served for four years as a student pastor at Christ United Methodist Church and four more years at Mountain View Baptist Church in Hickory. From 1996 until 2008, he worked at Millbrook Baptist Church in Aiken, SC, first as a student pastor for eight and a half years and then as associate pastor for three years. “I had many great experiences at Millbrook,” he reflects.

“It was in 2008 that I began to feel the call to plant a new church. Most church plantings are done by young ministers, and at the age of 44, I felt too old for that kind of thing. But the opportunity came about when Biltmore Baptist Church in Asheville chose to sponsor a church plant in the Morganton area.” So, taking the necessary leap of faith, Mike chose to partner with them, and he and his young family moved back to Burke County in August 2008.

“We called ourselves the Journey Church. We were told that we would have 35 members at the start, but when we arrived there were only four. We had an office on W. Union Street and began meeting there at night in January of 2009. At the first meeting, a different group of people showed up, and there were 35 of them. So it turned out to be 35 after all. We set March 1 as our official launch date. By then we had 43 people attending. Then the number quickly grew to 153. We began meeting at Table Rock Middle School, where we stayed for five years, and our average attendance grew to 320 people. It was time to expand. So in 2014 we merged with Calvary Baptist Church, and our attendance continued to grow.”

Mike truly believes that ministry is a calling and often uses the word “shepherd” to define his mission. He has three major passions that he feels are important. “The first is outreach. I believe it is our duty to reach out to the next generations, so we put a big emphasis on families with children. The message never changes, but we must be constantly changing the method to accomplish what will work with younger people. If we don’t do something that outlives us, then we have not met our mission. We must strive to think past ourselves.”

After 38 years in the ministry, Mike can reflect back to his high school days and see ways that he was being prepared even then. “It started when I signed up for Men’s Chorus looking for an easy credit. Then I discovered that I was a pretty good singer, so I moved on to Concert Choir and for a while in Chamber Singers.

“Then in the fall of my senior year, I went with a friend to an informational meeting about the spring musical theater production of ‘Annie Get Your Gun.’ After listening, I thought to myself that participating in such a thing was definitely not for me. I admit that in those days I didn’t like to get up in front of people for any reason. So I thought that was the end of it. But Phyllis Garrison, who directed the play, has reminded me of what happened next.

“One day while I was sitting in the back of my English classroom quietly doing my work, she stopped by and encouraged me to try out for an acting part. She mentioned that Mr. Williams had suggested that she talk to me. She says she had asked some of the young ladies who were my classmates if they thought I could do a speaking role and that they laughed and said, ‘Sure, but he won’t. He’s way too shy.’ But I gave it a try and was cast in the leading male role of Frank Butler! What followed was months of rehearsals, including some vocal training and some dance lessons. I enjoyed interacting with my fellow students in the cast, and we worked hard to make the show a success. It was so much fun, but it also brought me out of my comfort zone, and I have many fond memories of that experience. It was one of many stepping stones that helped me develop the kills I needed.

“’To be continued’ is still a life theme for me because life is always shifting and changing. As of December 2024, I resigned as Senior Pastor of Summit Community Church and immediately began a new phase of my life last January. I was blessed to come back to Drexel, my hometown that I love, to serve the people who I love. I accepted a call to Drexel First Baptist Church to be their long-term Interim Pastor on a part-time basis. This position is perfect as I transition into retirement in what I perceive to be the near future. When that position comes to a close, the theme will continue to be, ‘To be continued.’”