“An he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” (Mark 16:15 KJV).
One person who has gone out to preach the gospel to the world is Mike Rasberry. Mike married the love of his life, Diane Hales, on July 15, 1966, and she has served alongside him ever since he started working in the ministry.
Although he now does everything in his power to preach the gospel, he can still remember his life before he developed a closer relationship with God.
“I was a little wild in high school and did not do everything I should’ve done—developed some bad habits. When I got out of school, I went to work in the oil field,” stated Mike. “I then joined the Marines and went to Vietnam. I had not been serving the Lord in my time leading up to Vietnam or even while I was there. I returned from Vietnam and was stationed in Yuma, Arizona. Two of our children were born there, and it was there that God called me to preach. God used the First Southern Baptist Church of Yuma, AZ, to touch our hearts. We were loved by them, and they just loved us into the Body of Christ.”
It was after he accepted his call to preach that his hard work truly began. For a while when he first moved back over from Vietnam, Mike held a variety of jobs, including a job with the telephone company. He had to give up his job with the telephone company so that he could work where God placed him.
“I started pastoring a church in the desert 60 miles outside of Yuma,” stated Mike. “At one time, I was the only pastor that lived on the field for over 1000 square miles of inhabited space. It was a hard life. I quit my job with the telephone company to move out there, and we didn’t make much money.”
Although he didn’t make as much money as he used to, Mike did find a way to help supplement the income for his family.
“My wife and I trapped gophers for 50 cents a tail,” explained Mike. “Gophers would cause problems by digging tunnels under the irrigation canals and cause them to collapse, so farmers would pay 25 cents and the irrigation district would pay 25 cents per tail for them. Once we trapped them, we would have to cut off their tails and put them in a jar. We would take them to the irrigation district, and they paid us for trapping them. That’s how we supplemented our income.”
After pastoring at the church in Arizona for a few years, Mike decided it was time to further his education.
“We came back to Mississippi, and I went to Baptist Bible Institute in Florida. Diane worked a few months at the cotton mill in Stonewall while I was in Florida getting everything set up,” stated Mike. “She and the kids joined me in Florida in 1972, and I pastored some churches in the Florida area. I then went to William Carey College, New Orleans Seminary, studied a little at Liberty University, and studied a little at Arizona Western College.”
His ministry changed a little as he went from only pastoring churches to doing mission work.
“We finally went into home missions and served there for several years. We wound up doing some work with the home missions board with mission evangelism,” stated Mike. “We became language missionaries down on the border of Texas and Mexico. The home mission board would send me teams, and I’d take them into Mexico. We’d do evangelistic work in Mexico using bilingual materials. We went all over the place. I kept a tent and supplies in my truck that we would use to stay in when we went to Mexico.”
After working in home missions for a few years, Mike tried something new: starting a church.
“I tried my hand at starting a new church in Arizona, and it didn’t work as well,” said Mike. “I probably wasn’t mentally adapted to do that at that time.”
After trying to start the new church, Mike returned to the mission field.
“From there, we went overseas to serve, and we served several years overseas. While I was overseas, I pastored at a community church which was a combination of a missions and military church,” stated Mike. “I love to be able to preach, and I’ve preached in over 32 countries.”
When they did move back to the United States, Mike started doing some adjunct teaching at New Orleans Seminary, and he served as pastor at some churches in New Orleans. His ministry extended itself in a more unique way around this time, and he eventually moved back to Mississippi in 2009 where he has continued his form of ministry.
“We started working with horses in 2003 in Slidell, and it was there that we started having our horse camps. We started bringing kids in to teach them how to ride,” explained Mike. “Since then, I’ve taught children how to break and train horses. Usually during the summer, we have horse camps and can have around 50 people participating. It’s a combination of horse camp and Vacation Bible School. We usually do it all outside unless we are doing it in conjunction with a church. My wife will teach VBS type classes while I am teaching some to ride horses in an arena we have set up, and we trade out groups during the day.”
Unfortunately, Mike is unable to have his usual camp this summer because of the pandemic. He does, however, currently serve as the interim pastor for Morgan Chapel Baptist Church around Butler, AL.
Although it would seem that Mike has only had a life of hard work in the ministry, he has also enjoyed having a family. He has still experienced a little pain along the way.
“I have four children. Two of them have already passed—one recently,” said Mike. “I also have 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren that I love to see and spend time with.”
Until two years ago, Mike had a hobby that most of the county will easily recognize. In fact, his hobby is what started up one of the big traditions in the county today.
“Until two years ago, I shot most of the firework shows that were done in Mississippi,” stated Mike. “For a while, we shot the first firework shows here at Archusa. We inaugurated that program of fireworks here. They didn’t really have much money when we first started it, so we would throw in some extras for them for free. Eventually the county started helping fund it, and they started taking bids for who would do the show.”
Mike has been all over the world serving the Lord, and he has made sure to stay focused on what he needs to do now instead of only focusing on the past. It comes as no surprise that he would have these words of advice for the citizens of Clarke County:
“Don’t forget the past, but don’t be chained to it. Look for tomorrow, but live for today. We can only do our best with what we have, where we are, and who we are as we prepare for tomorrow.”
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