Lessons Learned by a Massachusetts Pastor Over Decades
Neal Davidson preaches at Hope Chapel (Sterling, MA) in May 2024
It can take decades to grow a thriving church in the spiritually rocky soil of New England, and it can take a lifetime to learn the essential lessons of faithful discipleship. Consider the forty-year ministry of Neal Davidson.
The central Massachusetts community of Sterling is the spot where God placed Davidson, founder and lead pastor of Hope Chapel, which he started in April 2002. A Massachusetts native who was born in Waltham and raised in Sudbury, Davidson practices Paul’s message to: “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it” (Col 4:17, HCSB).
A rural town with just 8,000 residents and no grocery store is “not usually a prime target” to plant a church, said Davidson, but he was asked to start a new congregation there when Sterling Baptist Church was closing its doors.
Davidson, 63, a gifted preacher of sermons that bring “people together in spiritual community [that fosters] growing in faith,” and his wife of four decades, Christina, a talented worship leader who provides oversight to the church’s worship and technology teams, are longtime residents of Sterling.
Neal and Christina Davidson in Chiang Mai, Thailand (2023) where members of their family serve as missionaries
Christina is the daughter of the late Paul Gallier, and his wife, Pat, longtime members of First Baptist Church, Sudbury, MA, where Christina and Neal met. The Galliers were early advocates of the Baptist Foundation of New England. She “has been around music all her life [and] has a passion to see people celebrate God.”
A pastor for forty years, Davidson, whose parents were charter members of the Sudbury church, most enjoys “the people, and getting a front-row seat to see what God is doing in [their] lives.” He calls being pastor of Hope Chapel “a sacred privilege” and describes the church as “a place of joy, as people discover all that they mean to God and all God can mean to their everyday lives.”
“Beyond loving God and people well and being active in some way in the Great Commission, I have always focused on the fact that ministry is about relationships,” he wrote.
A graduate of Bates College, Lewiston, ME (1983), and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX (1987), Davidson held a variety of roles for the BCNE. He was Associate Executive Director (1994–2003), interim Executive Director, president, and board chair. Currently, he is a Baptist Foundation of New England board member.
The Davidson’s have two sons and two grandchildren.
Nineteen-eight-four “was the year that launched my marvelous marriage journey with Christina and the privilege I have had to serve the Lord’s church,” Davidson wrote in a church newsletter. “Those forty years have been filled with tons of experiences, mostly good ones. Along the way [God] has taught me [lessons] that I have sought not to forget.” For example:
Always remember that what God requires is faithfulness, not success. It is God who gives the increase [1 Cor 3:6], so what he expects from me is to pursue excellence and wisdom in using the gifts, resources, relationships, and opportunities he’s provided. Then, I must leave the outcome to him. What a blessing that he has often provided great fruitfulness! In some ways, this echoes great advice I got as I began my ministry: “Don’t take yourself too seriously.” It is his church, not mine. I cannot solve its problems, only he can. My role is to follow, serve, and watch God work.
Enjoy God’s people. Some pastors keep their congregations at arm’s length because it can be very painful when things go sideways or to keep from being perceived as having favorites, but I learned early on that great encouragement and inspiration for ministry flows from close relationships with the people who comprise Christ’s body. The church is full of great people. I am blessed when I can call them “friends” in the fullest sense.
The biggest blessings often require the biggest steps of faith. This is also known as taking a risk. My first pastorate didn’t pay me enough to support myself—let alone a family. We went anyway. When we built a new, first-unit building there, we had three mortgages—not exactly a recommended financial practice. When I went full-time with Hope, I left certainty and stability in a ministry I loved for one whose future was still uncertain and unstable. When we constructed Hope’s current building, the numbers were way outside the recommended parameters. Those steps led to great blessings.
Faith is more fun when you participate in the Great Commission. Whether it is starting or assisting other churches as in my pastoral experiences in Hanover [Fellowship Baptist Church, Hanover, MA, 1987–94] and Sterling [2002-present] or getting to experience pieces of God’s Kingdom work—in place[s] including England, Romania, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda [where, as founder of Good Rain Ministries, he has been teaching pastors every year since 2010]—having a front-row seat in seeing God push back the darkness beyond my own direct ministry just livens things up.
You can prioritize what matters most and still be fully engaged with God’s kingdom work through the church. My family always comes first. I seek to make sure they do not pay the price for my “career.” I always was able to give what I needed as God’s servant leader among his people. Succeeding at home and in ministry are compatible.
Keep learning. You cannot feed others if you are not feeding yourself. You cannot lead others if you are not leading yourself to follow after and learn from Jesus.
Remember the admonition to Archippus in Colossians 4:17: “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”
“I have spent more than half of those forty years of ministry at Hope. Thanks for being a huge part of making my journey very special,” he wrote the Hope Chapel members and friends. To respond to this article, contact Davidson at Hope Chapel.
Reader: if you have lessons learned over decades of New England ministry, send them to BCNE Executive Director Terry Dorsett for consideration as a testimony that will benefit others.