[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 89 (Thursday, May 25, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WELCOMING DR. MICHAEL T. WHITSON

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. BISHOP) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to 
introduce America to First Baptist Church Indian Trail in the person of 
Pastor Mike Whitson, who opened us in prayer.
  Pastor Whitson celebrated this past month his 40th anniversary in the 
pulpit at First Baptist.
  Indian Trail? You may ask, what is Indian Trail? It is a small town, 
I would say, immediately east of Charlotte, North Carolina, except that 
is not quite right. The mayor of Stallings, North Carolina, is in the 
gallery. Stallings is immediately east of Charlotte, and Indian Trail 
is immediately east of Stallings.
  It is a small town, and in its midst, the institution of First 
Baptist Church has over 7,000 members. In the course of the pastorate 
of Mike Whitson, more than 7,000 people have been baptized, and they 
have two satellite campuses.
  In 1992, they began the Metrolina Christian Academy, which now 
matriculates 1,477 students in one of the largest K-12 private schools 
in our State. There is ministry after ministry--to the county jail, a 
Russian language ministry. Where God undertakes to do His will, it can 
be in the most unexpected of places.

  It was related in the church's celebration of Mike's pastorate and 
his 40th anniversary that, in the early days, Mike would surprise 
everyone, certainly the men of the church, when he would bid them a 
farewell by saying: I love you.
  At first, they were taken aback, but after a time, they began saying 
to Pastor Whitson: I love you.
  That is what Pastor Whitson has meant, and the work of the Lord 
through him and in him is a masterful thing for the Nation to behold.
  It is my honor to have had him here in the House Chamber today.

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