‘A rare and noteworthy accomplishment’

DENTON – The Rev. Don Reynolds has marked a milestone very few pastors achieve: a half-century tenure as pastor of the only church he has ever served.

The congregation of Calvary Baptist Church in Denton celebrated Reynolds’ 50-year pastorate Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.

“Fifty years have passed during which he has demonstrated faithfulness to the gospel, integrity of character and tirelessness in the work of the ministry,” said chairman of the deacons Dr. Christian Jensen.

Jensen is the only surviving deacon among those who hired Reynolds to pastor the independent Baptist church. “It was the second Sunday of June 1976 that the deacons and congregation of the recently formed Calvary Baptist Church heard their first sermon from and extended an invitation to Donald Reynolds, a new graduate of Liberty Baptist Seminary.”

In the years since, Reynolds, 77, “has been a role model of the man of God, under-shepherd of God's flock, father, grandfather and patriot,” Jensen said. “The Lord himself is the chief shepherd of the flock.”

Reynolds’ achievement is especially noteworthy among American Protestant churches, according to Aaron Earls of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifeway Research.

“The tenure at a church for the average Protestant pastor is around 10 years. Additionally, only around 10% of Protestant pastors have been at their church for more than 25 years,” Earls stated in an Oct. 13 email to the Caroline Review. “Faithfully pastoring a church for half a century is a rare and noteworthy accomplishment.”

The journey begins in Virginia

Reynolds grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, and attended Thomas Road Baptist Church, founded by the late Jerry Falwell Sr.

“Your alma mater celebrates with you,” wrote Dr. Adam McClendon, Associate Dean of Liberty Theological Seminary’s School of Divinity. In the letter to Reynolds, McClendon added, “We are grateful that your ministry did not end with the completion of a degree. … Instead you have continued to serve Christ faithfully across generations….”

Since their wedding day on August 24, 1974. Pastor Don and Nancy Reynolds’ ministry has been a real partnership. Nancy had already earned her nursing degree from North Carolina Baptist Hospital School of Nursing and had served in Ghana, West Africa, for two years in the mission field, when the couple met.

They met at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, where Reynolds was a member of the first graduating class, earning his Master of Divinity degree in 1976. He had earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Lynchburg College and worked for the government for a couple of years in Richmond.

Reynolds called his wife “a great answer to prayer.” Nancy said her husband is her “biggest encourager.”

“Nancy’s one of the most gifted women that I know and the church knows,” Reynolds said. “God brought us together, and it’s just been really special.”

They were expecting their first child when they were called, and now their sons John and Donnie, as well as daughter Carrie, are themselves in fulltime Christian ministry. Will is on active duty in the U.S. Army.

“We look back over the pictures and we think, ‘Oh my goodness, a lot has happened in 50 years,” Nancy said.

Reynolds was 26 when he was called to serve the fledgling Denton flock. A handful of local Baptists began gathering in homes, then at the Women’s Club downtown, and finally at their present location on Camp Road.

“It was a from-the-ground-up kind of thing,” Dr. Jensen said in 2024 interview. “It was what the people felt we needed and the people not only gave but contributed of their time and of their effort … a spontaneous thing from people who had a vision of the church.”

Today, the church building is a landmark with its steeple, erected in 2016, towering above the treeline and visible to the thousands who daily travel the county seat’s bypass, which hadn’t been constructed when the founders bought the property.

Reynolds praises Dr. Jensen as his primary mentor, whom he describes as “the most stable, mature man in my life, other than my dad.” He credits longtime deacons, choir leaders, musicians and church members for growing and sustaining the church’s ministries.

Confronting challenges, celebrating triumphs

Navigating the COVID pandemic was the most daunting challenge Reynolds said he experienced.

“We had a platform trailer under the drive-through, so we had people drive in and we set up a radio, so they could tune to particular number and listen to (the service),” Reynolds said. “And what’s remarkable about it is we had just as many dogs as we had people in the cars. But what was amazing to me was the giving and the attendance. It wasn’t unusual for us to have maybe 50-60 people. But the people that weren't here kept on giving, and we never missed a blink on giving. We never took any government money.”

Reynolds preached to an empty auditorium inside. “That was what was hard. I don't know how to explain it, but we just plugged on along. God blessed it.”

“It brought us together as a church,” Nancy added.

Through the years, Reynolds has been involved in the community beyond Sunday services: visiting the jail and nursing homes, evangelizing through radio broadcasts, and personal evangelism and subsequent baptisms. The church has sponsored 40 to 50 missionaries through the years and currently supports 11. The church has held annual Vacation Bible Schools and hosts special concerts.

Jensen said Reynolds “has initiated and carried forward more than 60 different ministries of Calvary Church, “We, the congregation, and specifically we, the deacons of Calvary Baptist Church, have been especially blessed by the lifetime of service of this eminently humble and unselfish man.”

To illustrate these traits, Jensen noted that one of the youth who went on to become a pastor himself once noticed that “Rev. Don parked his car, not in the place of closest proximity to the church, but at the extreme of the parking lot to give others easier access.”

Throughout their ministry, the couple said the church has been supportive. When asked about his proudest achievement, he again pointed to his congregation.

“There was a steadfastness in supporting Nancy and I through the very early stages of family and ministry. They kept loving us and building us up and supporting our family, and they displayed it in a remarkable manner.” They even paid Reynolds’ salary when he went on active military duty. He has been a member of the Army National Guard since he was 18 years old. He served 35 years, 27 of which as a chaplain.

“He has a deep commitment to our country,” said Jensen, a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy. “When called upon, he brought the gospel to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay Prison, Germany, New Orleans, the Pentagon attack site at 911, and (during) many weekend drills and religious services.”

“Dr. Jensen and others made sure the word of God was being proclaimed week by week, and we didn't lose a single member. The people were proud that that I could serve,” Reynolds said.

Along with their four children, who were all raised in Calvary Baptist, the Reynolds’ heritage includes their nine grandchildren. “I’m so proud of our children, and now the grandkids,” Reynold said. “Our kids are living for the Lord and serving him.” 

“Calvary is the church I dreamed of in when we came here, when it was just a little infant church,” Reynolds said. “We wanted to do big things, but we didn't have people or money. … You're lucky to have a pianist. But now we have all this. We have everything you can dream of. What can you say when you’ve got good deacons? You have one of the best choirs in America for a small church. You have some of the nicest facilities.”

“So I could brag on the church all day long, but this is most important: It's all the Lord. Our emphasis is on the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the head of not just the worldwide church; he's the head of this local church, and we are here to honor him,” he said. “That's our mission: to love God and to serve the people.”