Breakfast with the pastor in the Pastor’s Cafe is more than just a meal at the United Pentecostal Church of Russellville, Kentucky. This buffet breakfast is a special time for new guests to enjoy a one-on-one fellowship with Pastor Scott D. Marshall and his wife, Angela. Loving, serving and caring for people is the priority of not only Pastor Marshall but the entire body of the United Pentecostal Church of Russellville. That ministry concept is what makes the UPC of Russellville so exciting and fruitful!
Pastor Marshall and his wife have three daughters: Rachel (23) married to Eric Edwards, Anna (20) and Rose (15). Bro. Marshall served as Youth Secretary from 1990-1998, Youth President from 1998-2001, Presbyter from 2001-2005, and served as District Superintendent of Kentucky from 2005 until the present time.
Principles of Growth & Revival
One distinct characteristic of Bro. Marshall is that he truly loves people. “Loving, serving and caring for each and every one equally is the vision of our church,” he said. “Our mission is to see them baptized, filled with the Holy Ghost and become engaged in the vision of the church.”
As a pastor with various time demands on his ministry, Bro. Marshall said, “Balance is very important, and I must maintain my relationship with the Lord and with my family.”
Organization & Management
“We have several ministries within our church,” said Pastor Marshall. “We have our Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry (Anthem), Hyphen Class (18-25 yrs.), Nursing Home Ministry, Music Ministry, Men’s & Ladies’ Ministries and Jail Ministry in which we baptized 98 inmates last year.”
Pastor Marshall meets with his ministry department leaders on a monthly basis, and each department has job descriptions. “We have annual vision planning in which we fellowship on Friday evening and hold our meeting on Saturday. We then review our calendar on a monthly basis,” said the pastor. “We have enrolled in Kineo Resources, a church consulting firm that works with us on church growth and organization. About 50% of our members are involved in ministry and in evangelism as well. I present various opportunities to our members to encourage involvement. We have participated in various outreach endeavors, including block parties and are presently in a project to place a door hanger on every door in our town of 8,000.”
Special Miracles
Bro. Marshall recalls a very special miracle that happened in the church, “An older gentleman’s wife attended church, but he had never come to church,” he said. “He became very ill and was hospitalized with kidney failure, and his eyesight was failing. When I saw him, it certainly didn’t look promising. However, prayers were answered, he miraculously recovered, his eyesight was restored, he was saved, and is now involved in our parking lot team as a porch greeter.”
Personal Ministry
“I believe my philosophy of ministry consists of honesty and treating all people and ministry equally and fair,” said Bro. Marshall. “One of the areas I focus on is uplifting pastors, and my two favorite subjects to preach on are encouragement and victory.”
Current Facility
The church facility is a brick building, erected in 1975 and has a seating capacity of around 250. The church plans to begin remodeling the sanctuary this fall with hopes to expand seating capacity. Bro. Marshall explained, “We renovated our upper level to accommodate a youth sanctuary that seats 40. We have a 120-seat fellowship hall and five classrooms. Church attendance averaged 160 in 2013, and that year we saw 19 filled with the Holy Ghost and seven baptized.”
Personal History
“I grew up in Nineveh, Indiana, a few miles south of Indianapolis,” said Pastor Marshall. “I attended a United Pentecostal Church occasionally as a child, until my mother began attending and invited me to a revival. I received the Holy Ghost in 1977 at age 15 and felt God begin to call me to the ministry over the next few years. At 18 years old, I preached my first sermon in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1980. Graduating from Indian Creek High School in Trafalgar, Indiana, I attended Indiana Central University in Indianapolis, centering my studies on banking. I then worked in banking for seven years, was actually being promoted, but then came to a point where I felt led to pursue my calling in ministry.” He and his wife, Angela, evangelized in Indiana and Kentucky in 1988. His first pastorate was in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and he has held the pastorate at UPC of Russellville from June ‘95 until this present time.
Pastor Marshall especially noted Pastor Grover Myers, Pastor Mark Myers, Bro. Robert Clark and Bro. Mark Brewer as men who greatly influenced his life.
Church History
The church has been led by five pastors before Bro. Marshall, all at the same location. They are Pastor Adrain Williams (1946-1949), Pastor T.F. Moore (1949-1960), Pastor C.P. Baskerville (1960-1980), Pastor Charles Clanton (1980-1987), and Pastor James E. O’Neal (Bro. Marshall’s uncle) (1987-1995).
Human Interest
Pastor Marshall’s leisure time is spent with family and playing an occasional round of golf with friends. He mostly enjoys family vacations and supper time with his family and Lacey, the family’s Morkie dog. “One thing people would be surprised to learn about me is that I’m naturally a quiet individual and not very outgoing,” says Bro. Marshall. His favorite preachers are Bro. Jerry Jones and Bro. Paul Mooney, and his favorite author for leisure reading is John Grisham.
By Linda Schreckenberg
