Rev. David Testerman

(Boone, North Carolina)

Rev. David Testerman, or, Preacher David as many of the older members of the congregation prefer to call him, is truly a blessing to Piney Grove Baptist Church.

It is not often that one will encounter a minister who has had the option to pastor large metropolitan churches, yet, because he yields to what he feels is God's calling in his life, is content to be the shepherd for a small rural community church near Boone, North Carolina. With God using Preacher David and his wife Judy as instruments, what once was a struggling church with only a handful in attendance is now experiencing continual growth and commitment.

It is obvious from the moment you meet him, he isn't just another minister. He is a pastor with the care, concern and love for his congregation that only someone with a pastor's heart could have. Unlike many ministers and their wives who place a buffer between themselves and their congregation, Preacher David & Judy are just "one of us." If we hurt, they hurt, if we cry, they cry. On many occasions they have taken money from their own pocket to help someone in the church or community who was experiencing hardship.

He doesn't differentiate between his members. Everyone from the least to the most educated, the poorest to the wealthiest, the worst dressed to the most well dressed is treated with the same love and respect. Thus, he has a way of reaching those that others have written off as not worthy, or as a lost cause. Educated and dignified to move and function with the elite, yet, humble and caring enough to communicate with the ordinary.

All the positive attributes notwithstanding, the most impressive is he has done it the "right way," not compromising his believes, not placing attendance and offering amounts above the gospel and the message that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is real, is alive and can make a difference, to one soul at a time and one life at a time, thus changing the course of individuals, families, communities, countries and the world.

To Preacher David and his wonderful wife Judy, thank you and we are proud to call you our "Pastor and Judy."