Walter Ross came to Colonial in August 1997 to serve as our first pastor of Care Ministries, but the Lord first gave him a ministry of caring many years before.

After completing his seminary studies at Gordon Divinity School (now Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) near Boston, Massachusetts, it occurred to Pastor Ross that the Lord might be calling him into the mission field—to a place that had once been a launch point for Christian evangelical education and revival, but had become almost completely spiritually dark. He felt called to stay in New England.

At a time when the average New England pastor lasted only one-and-a-half years serving a church, he accepted a position as pastor of a Congregationalist church. The church began to grow and disciples were being made. Even then, Pastor Ross was beginning to see that demonstrating God’s love by caring for community members in practical ways was winning people to faith.  He served at his first pastorate five years…a record of sorts. But, God had plans that challenged Pastor Ross and his wife, Barbara, to take a step of faith they hadn’t expected. In 1975, they left his first pastorate and planted the Cape Ann Bible Church. “Cape Ann Bible Church really came into being through care ministries,” said Pastor Ross.

In a community that was made up almost entirely of nominal Catholics, Pastor Ross realized that being available to people when they were experiencing suffering or loss could practically show Christ’s love and compassion. He began visiting the sick and learning about their families. He told local funeral homes to call him when someone passed away who was un-churched and there was no pastor to officiate the service. This unusual step gave him the opportunity to share the Gospel message with those who would ordinarily never go to church, but would attend a funeral. Some were saved and became part of the fledgling church as a result.

Cape Ann began to grow. In the largely blue-collar town, there were always needs to be met. Those who came to Cape Ann found hope in the face of unemployment, addiction struggles, the darkness of cults and the occult and confusion over a faith that they claimed, but did not understand. Pastor Ross rode a motorcycle back then because so many of the men in the church did. Like Paul he could say, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” (1 Corinthians 9:23 NAS)

“It’s surprising to see where your giftedness is. I thought it would be preaching, but I grew while working hard with people—meeting life-needs,” reflected Pastor Ross. Then, after twenty years at Cape Ann, God provided a new opportunity to minister to the needs of a rapidly growing congregation in Cary, North Carolina. With so many needs in a growing church, elders at Colonial determined early on that caring for the congregation would require the efforts of a pastor who could devote himself to its care.

After coming to Colonial, Pastor Ross soon realized, “The key at Colonial would be equipping believers to do care ministries.” No one person could know about or attend to the needs of several hundred and then a few thousand members and attendees. From that realization Pastor Ross guided the development of Care Ministries at Colonial Baptist Church. The ministry now includes ministry teams who provide meals to families after the birth of a baby, visit the sick, support those grieving the loss of a loved one and encourage young couples preparing for Christian marriage. Care Ministries also provides prayer support for all the ministries of Colonial and biblical counseling by Pastor Stephen Pritchett.  (To learn more about all that Care Ministries offers, visit care.colonial.org.)

Looking back on a lifetime of ministry Pastor Ross said, “I was saved and called into the ministry as a result of the impact my grandmother made on me.” As he described her conversion to faith and her resulting life of reaching out to care for the community where she lived, it’s easy to see how he first developed compassion for the lost, as well as the hurting believer—his ministry of caring.

Recently Pastor Ross decided to semi-retire as Pastor of Care Ministries. He will continue to visit the sick and homebound two days each week, beginning in March. This transition might give him more time to boat at Jordan Lake or play a round of golf, two things he enjoys. It’s more likely he’ll continue to care people into the kingdom with his warm, ever-present smile and calm reassuring manner.

The thing Pastor Ross would want to make sure that you know about his ministry? “I never would have made it in ministry, if not for [my wife] Barbara.” He and Barbara live in Apex and have two adult daughters and four grandchildren