Gerald Romine says he ‘never saw any reason to leave’ the Roanoke Church of Christ.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
ROANOKE, Ala. — In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.
The Soviet Union stunned the world with the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite.
And football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant decided to leave Texas A&M for his alma mater, Alabama, where he would win six national titles.
That same year, in this small town 110 miles southeast of Birmingham, 20-year-old Gerald Romine agreed to preach for the Roanoke Church of Christ until the congregation could find a permanent minister.
“I tell them I reckon they’re still looking,” said Romine, now 85 and still filling the Roanoke church’s pulpit 65 years later.
This past weekend, a crowd of fellow Christians, relatives and community leaders — including Mayor Jill Patterson and Superintendent of Schools Gregory Foster — assembled at the red brick church building that Romine helped construct in 1966.
All came Sunday afternoon to honor the beloved minister and his wife, Louise, for nearly two-thirds of a century of devoted service to their church family and neighbors.
“Brother Romine, he loves the Lord, and he has proved this to me over and over with his faithfulness and his trust in God and heaven above,” lifelong Roanoke member Bryan Kirby said. “He’s been in the Word so much that he’s gained a reputation over the years as a walking, talking Bible.”
This story appears in the January edition of The Christian Chronicle.
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