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M.O. Owens honored for lifetime of ministry
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
November 18, 2013
4 MIN READ TIME

M.O. Owens honored for lifetime of ministry

M.O. Owens honored for lifetime of ministry
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
November 18, 2013

At age 100 M.O. Owens Jr. has invested his life in advancing the gospel, serving Southern Baptists and serving North Carolina Baptists.

Owens came to North Carolina to pastor in 1944, and has been doing so ever since. He still preaches Sunday mornings at the church he founded in 1963, Parkwood Baptist Church in Gastonia. Owens now serves as pastor emeritus of the church.

Describing Owens as a “living legend,” Milton A. Hollifield Jr. presented Owens with a lifetime achievement award during a special time of recognition during the recent Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC) annual meeting in Greensboro. Hollifield serves as BSC executive director-treasurer.

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BSC photo by K Brown

M.O. Owens, right, acknowledges the applause from messengers Nov. 12 during the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s (BSC) annual meeting. Milton A. Hollifield Jr., BSC executive director-treasurer, presented Owens with a plaque recognizing the pastor’s ministry among North Carolina Baptists.

“M.O. Owens Jr. is one of my great heroes. I have respected and appreciated him through the years,” Hollifield said. “I am grateful for what he has meant to us as North Carolina Baptists and to the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Owens pastored First Baptist Church in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and a church in Florida before moving to North Carolina. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Marion for 10 years before becoming pastor of First Baptist Church in Lenoir, where he served until he moved to Gastonia to pastor Parkwood Baptist Church.

A South Carolina native, Owens is a graduate of Furman University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

In 1925, Owens was present with his parents at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting in Memphis, Tenn. when the Cooperative Program was first adopted. Years later, he would help move the SBC, its seminaries and the BSC back to its conservative theological roots.

“I am grateful to have served Southern Baptist churches for 75 years and the privilege God has given me,” Owens said. “I am grateful for so many friends across the country. God has blessed us. God has been so good to me.”

Don Warren, a member of Parkwood, called Owens a man of integrity. “When I think of M.O. Owens I think of a man who lives his Christian life by not compromising before God and man. People see that in him and recognize that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.”

Warren is grateful for the dedicated, visionary leadership of Owens. “Every church M.O. has ever pastored has grown, and every church he pastored exceeded its budget,” he said.

Warren encouraged N.C. Baptists to follow Owens’ example of loving and treasuring God’s Word.

“The biggest thing that any pastor could learn from M.O. is to follow the Word of God without deviation, and to not make it adaptable to the trends of the day,” Warren said. “M.O. believes every single word in the Bible. He lives it. He preaches it. And that is the basis of his success.”

Jeff Long, senior pastor of Parkwood, said leaders such as Owens paved the way for the current generation, taking risks for the sake of the gospel.

“The way he treats people, the way he preaches the Word, the way he approaches life with grace and dignity – he truly is a godly man,” he said. “If you ever interact with him it’s evident from the very beginning. And it’s not age; it’s having spent a life walking with God.”

Owens has served on the BSC Board of Directors and its various committees, and also served as president of the Pastors’ Conference for two years. Owens was instrumental in the process of buying property for the N.C. Baptist Assembly at Fort Caswell and for Fruitland Baptist Bible College, where he taught for a number of years. On the national level, Owens was engaged with the ministries of the Baptist Sunday School Board, Home Mission Board and Education Commission.

Throughout his ministry, Owens never strayed from his commitment and passion to tell people about the life-transforming message of the gospel.

“Just preach the gospel,” Owens said. “That’s all that matters.”