Pastor Charles Hall: Changing lives, what it’s all about

For those who doubt that God has a plan for the lives of those willing to follow Him, look no further than Pastor Charles Hall of Truevine Baptist Church. Despite humble beginnings, God has opened doors making Hall a rich man - rich in relationships, faith and spirit.

Overcoming tragedy

Pastor Charles Hall was born in 1953 near St. Martinsville Baptist Church in the Whitehall community to Chester Arthur Hall and Maddie Russell Hall. During Hall’s early years, his father picked cotton in West Texas until their return to the Brazos Valley where he sharecropped for Raymond Love in Wheelock. According to Hall, his father kept Love’s Supermarket in Navasota stocked with hogs, peas, okra and the sugar cane he picked from the Brazos Bottom. He cherishes memories of picking cotton alongside his father, riding on his back and hanging over his shoulder at night as he read his Bible.

Hall said, “My oldest brother on the left side, my younger brother on the right and I’m on his back, and he’s flipping the pages. I couldn’t understand why God took my father at an early age.”

Hall was 7-years old when his father was killed in an automobile accident, leaving Maddie to raise Hall and six siblings ages 13, 9, 4, 3, 2 and four months.

Hall said his parents had married at age 15 with only an eight grade education. Along with the loss of their father, they lost the roof over their head. They returned to Grimes County’s Blackjack community and lived in his great-grandmother’s house surrounded by several generations of family members. Hall attended St. Martinsville as a child but fondly recalls his first memory of Truevine.

He said, “My Uncle Nathan Williams brought all of his nephews and baptized us here in a tin pool, about 12 boys. I was about 23 when this man William Gant came into my life.”

Gant was Hall’s predecessor and Truevine pastor for 35 years. Hall recalled how Gant recruited a group of young men “gossiping under a tree” and told them, “If you let me, I’ll teach you the Gospel.”

Part of that group, Hall was especially receptive and regularly attended Brotherhood with the elderly men of the church, growing his knowledge of the scriptures and accepting greater responsibility at Truevine.

Open doors

Hall went to work at Trinity Industries at age 18 and was taken under the wing of welder Donnie Hebert. Doors opened for training opportunities and Hall honed his skills as a facilitator, using those skills both inside and outside of work.

He said, “It was my work at Trinity but I used what they gave me in life. I brought it back to the church. I was a facilitator and I would brainstorm everything. That’s what I do to the Bible now.”

A press operator, Hall knew everything about the shop and coordinated all the work but was also a self-described workaholic. After quitting time, he did yardwork, cleaned pools and catering.

Discussing his work ethic, Hall recalled picking cotton, pecans, berries, trying to help his mother make ends meet and said, “I had to work because of my mother. Coming up losing my father, maybe you’d call it being a mama’s boy, but I stood by mother.”

After 30 years on the job, Hall said he received a sign from God to move on and signed on with contractor KBR for a stint at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. His organizational skills served him well. He streamlined the loading and unloading process, promoting to a supervisory position.

It was on a walk in the desert talking to God that Hall found a cross in the sand and heard God tell him to preach the Gospel. After recuperating in Germany from a heart attack, Hall returned stateside and attended the College of Biblical Studies in Houston. Back at Truevine he assisted his mentor Pastor Gant, who was in physical and mental decline.

Hall said, “It didn’t make sense for me to abandon him. He encouraged me and was my biggest influence.”

Hard times, joys

Talking about life’s difficulties, Hall thanks God for his wife Jocelyn. Part of their witness is providing food, lodging and transportation for those with loved ones in the hospital.

Hall works with young men released from prison teaching welding, helping them obtain proper identification, completing job applications and driving them to apply for jobs.

For those dealing with drug addiction he follows the example of Pastor Gant inviting them to Brotherhood meetings and eventually accepting the Lord.

With a tear on his cheek, Hall talked about baptisms saying, “The most joyous thing I can do is bring my people to Christ. Changing their life is what it’s all about.”

Taking on the pandemic

Church closings during the pandemic were a source of “agitation” for Hall but “God spoke.”

Hall said, “I just walked out there, got me a speaker, and everybody drove up and parked outside right in front. I stood on the step in the heat, the cold and the rain and preached the Gospel. During the pandemic, the Lord gave me Facebook, a whole new PA system and I’ve got over 1,560 viewers.”

Month after month, cars parked in front of the church, in the vacant lot across the street and over on S. Business 6. It was said the Gospel could be heard all the way to the railroad track.

Hall continued, “The Gospel went out. It was a blessing for us. Sometimes things look like they end you but they’re a blessing for you.”

Advising families

Hall’s No. 1 advice to parents is “Don’t send your kids to church, take them! You cannot tell your kids to know Christ and you not know about Christ yourself. You are the main teacher.”

For young people, he says, “If anybody seeks God to the fullest, he’ll give you the desires of your heart. Sometimes we don’t even know what to ask for. Seek Him. He’s the one who made you, created you. He’s the one who knows all about you.”

Hall said, “In every situation and circumstance, trust in the Lord. That’s my motto, that’s what I live by.”