[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 757-758]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING REV. CHARLES L. MOSELEY ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. RANDY FORBES

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 23, 2008

  Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize my pastor and 
dear friend, Rev. Charles L. Moseley on the occasion of his retirement 
from nearly 40 years of service as pastor of Great Bridge Baptist 
Church in Chesapeake, VA.
  Charles Moseley was born in Camden, SC, the fifth child and only son 
of Fred and Julia Moseley. Growing up in a small town, Charles felt the 
influence of his godly mother and father. One evening in October 1949 
after a revival service at First Baptist of Camden, while Charles and 
his friends were watching an eclipse of the moon, he felt the call of 
God to full-time Christian ministry.

[[Page 758]]

  Charles started his higher education achieving his associate of arts 
degree from Wingate Jr. College in January 1952. He went on to receive 
his bachelor of arts degree in English from Coker College in January 
1954. Continuing to be led by the Lord, Charles then entered 
Southeastern Seminary at Wake Forest, NC, and graduated with a bachelor 
of divinity in January 1958. He later earned a master of divinity from 
Southeastern Seminary in the early 1970s. Throughout these years of 
college, Charles continued to see God's hand on his life in many ways 
through financial help, mentoring from professors, and preaching in 
churches in the area.
  During his time at seminary, Charles preached in many churches but 
was led to pastor two churches in Dillon County, SC. He would travel 
between the two churches on Sunday preaching at one at 10 a.m. and the 
other at 11 a.m. It was during this time in December 1956 that he met 
his future wife, Louise Martin. At the time, Lou was serving as 
education director of the First Baptist Church of Dillon, SC. They were 
married in June 1957.
  As a senior at seminary, many offers from churches came for him to 
serve as pastor but Charles was not led to any of them until he 
received an offer from a small church in Valdese, NC, in early 1958. 
Abee's Grove Baptist was a small country church located in the 
mountains of North Carolina with a Sunday morning attendance between 
100 to 150 people.
  Pastor Moseley and his family left this church in 1962 to begin a 
ministry at the First Baptist Church of Carthage, NC. Located near 
Pinehurst, NC, First Baptist was a dignified little church with a 
beautiful pipe organ, stained glass windows, and friendly congregation.
  From the beginning of his studies, Charles had the desire to be a 
chaplain in the Air Force but that was not the Lord's path for him. He 
did however, serve in the National Guard and proudly retired from the 
U.S. Army Reserve with 23 years of service.
  Even in the beginning of his ministry, Charles had always thought he 
would be the pastor of a small church, never imaging that the Lord 
would lead him to shepherd a large, vibrant, and growing church. 
However, in 1969 Charles and his family felt the call to Great Bridge 
Baptist Church, a church of 650 members in a rural area near Norfolk, 
VA. Throughout his ministry at Great Bridge Baptist, Pastor Moseley has 
always maintained that he is a pastor first, serving his people 
wherever their needs are. His greatest desire is to be a servant 
reaching out to his congregants during their most important times--
marriage, birth, death, crisis, sickness, sorrow, fear, joy.
  When asked what he would say is a highlight of his ministry at Great 
Bridge Baptist, Pastor Moseley recalled that one of the greatest of his 
delights is experiencing someone coming to know the Lord. The blessing 
of leading a person to know Christ as his/her Savior is the joy of his 
life.
  Madam Speaker, in the nearly 40 years of service at Great Bridge 
Baptist Church, Pastor Moseley has steadfastly led his congregation in 
the footsteps of Christ, touching thousands of lives with the joy and 
peace of the Lord. Through the many years that my family and I have 
attended Great Bridge Baptist, I have come to know Rev. Moseley as a 
model of selfless service and great spiritual leadership. Today we 
thank him for his service to us and most importantly his service to the 
Lord and we ask God's special blessing on him and his family as they 
pursue the joys and challenges of this next phase of his life.

                          ____________________