Covenant Presbyterian Church’s gain might be the nation’s loss.
Pastor David Frierson considered a career in law more than four decades ago in his native South Carolina. And his thought process at the time was to take a career path that would have blended distinct skill sets appropriate for today’s political climate.
“I was not only interested in pre-law, but more specifically Christian politics,” Frierson said. “I was born in Columbia, raised in the Presbyterian church and attended an interdenominational seminary founded by the Rev. Billy Graham.”
January marks 39 years that Frierson has been in the ministry. He has been Greenville’s Covenant Presbyterian Church’s pastor since 2016. Prior to moving to Greenville, he had pastored a church in North Texas for the previous decade.
“It was a process of submitting a resume to a pulpit committee, interviewing and having the church congregation vote to bring in a new pastor,” he explained. “That’s the process, but my reason for being in Greenville was all in the Lord’s hand.”
Since his installation, Frierson has rightly divided the word of truth using his personal teaching style, different ministries of the church and by living an example of service.
“I preach in an expository style where I explain, apply and relate the Scripture to the lives of the listeners,” he said. “During my time at Covenant, I have preached quite a bit from Mark, James and John. In Bible study, we have been studying the book of Revelation. We also study lessons and topics in Bible Study and Sunday School.”
“As a personal preference, I also like studying and preaching from the Gospels as well,” he added.
The congregation hearing the message and receiving the teaching is an active, civically involved cross section of people in Greenville who put teaching into action.
“Our congregants come from all walks of life,” Frierson said. “We have doctors, professional people, homemakers and a few people from the county area who work in agriculture.”
Covenant Presbyterian Church is part of the Presbyterian Church in America.
Covenant’s members are actively involved in Matty Akin Elementary School’s Good News Club, Greenville Rotary Club, Arms of Mercy, Saturday message luncheons with Emmanuel Baptist Church and formerly The Salvation Army.
A growing part of the church’s outreach is the advanced educational ministry called the Covenant Public Institute.
“This is our seminary level education program for local church leaders and those interested in expanding their knowledge about Scripture,” Frierson explain. “The subject matter and the instruction are pretty deep.”
The year gone by has left its mark even in the house of the Lord.
Frierson said that all the church’s ministries have been impacted by COVID-19. But his message in these uncertain times is one of comfort and calm that has guided his journey throughout nearly four decades of preaching the word.
“My message is to trust in the sovereign power of the Lord,” he said. “Be assured that God is in control. This should be our hope and prayer as believers.”
