Pastor Nathaniel Griffin, Sr. lead Pastor of Greater Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church in north city, is passing the torch after nearly 30 years of service in ministry.
The Pastor is looking forward to retirement but mostly passing down the title of lead pastor to the younger generation to give them a chance to bridge the gap and bring young people back to God.
The Tennessee native said after 30 years at Greater Rising Star, he has developed a personal relationship with his members. They know he is dependable, provides exceptional advice, and is just a phone call away.
“I am blessed to have folks here who love me,” said Pastor Griffin.
“…it’s time for me to step down. My thoughts and ways are not those of the next generation. They need someone who speaks their language.” – Pastor Nathaniel Griffin, Sr.
Pastor Griffin moved to St. Louis as a young boy from Germantown, Tennessee with his family in 1959. The second to the youngest of nine recalls visiting his hometown in the South every summer, working the fields so that he could help his mother pay household bills. The experience taught him a great deal about responsibility.
“My mama didn’t want state assistance so every summer me and my siblings went to Tennessee to work the field to help her,” said the pastor.
The retiring pastor’s childhood was good. His mom had rules like most parents did back then, and her main one was to go to church every Sunday. Growing up on the west end of St. Louis near Page and Taylor, Griffin saw how families supported each other back then. His family moved to Wellston. At that time Wellston was a popular shopping district. A year later his family moved to Pine Lawn, where Griffin stayed until he graduated from Normandy High School.
In the late 70s early 80s, Griffin struggled with cocaine and heroin addiction. He also sold drugs. But he always went to church and stayed connected to God. He said during his addiction he did a line of cocaine every morning, and by the afternoon he smoked heroin. One day while at Bible Study, Griffin felt like the preacher was talking directly to him during the sermon. He felt a spiritual shift in his body and started walking towards the preacher. The congregation prayed over him and from that point, the retiring pastor was free from his drug addiction.
“That was the last time I did cocaine or heroin. I had no desire for it,” said the ministry leader.
With tears in his eyes, Pastor Griffin remembers telling his pastor he was called to preach. Every Saturday for three years, Pastor Griffin was tutored by Reverend Curtis Folkner, because he couldn’t afford to go to ministry school.
Once his education was completed, Griffin said God just started opening doors for him, and one of those doors was Greater Rising Star MB Church. However, the new pastor did not want that church. At the time it was located in Hillsdale and he describes the building as raggedy and rundown. Chuckling, Pastor Griffin said, “I had my eyes on another church in Tennessee.”
“I just didn’t want that church. If you cleaned the carpet, the vacuum sucked it right up.”
But the Lord works in mysterious ways because God and the members had plans for Pastor Griffin. The members of the church voted him into the position, but Pastor Griffin still turned them down.
One particular morning while driving his wife to church the pastor said he was divinely led to Rising Star MB Church, the very church he was running from. His car conked out right in front of the building, and Pastor Griffin surrendered to God and has been leading that church ever since.
During his time as the lead, pastor Griffin started a pantry program at his church. Every Saturday, church members and volunteers feed those in the community.
Pastor Griffin has appointed Dr. Nicholas Grise as the new lead pastor at Greater Rising. “I can see the church continuing to flourish under his leadership,” said Griffin.
“Besides, it’s time for me to step down. My thoughts and ways are not those of the next generation. They need someone who speaks their language.”
Pastor Griffin will remain a member of his beloved church and will preach once a month. However, he will let his wife plan out his retirement.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
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