MIKE TOBIAS
PORT ARTHUR — Growing up in Little Rock, Ark., Derrick Noble knew he wanted to be a minister.
What became his lifelong goal, however, was at the expense of constant chiding because of his unavoidable affliction.
“I had a real bad speech impediment growing up,” Noble said. “So you can imagine when I was in third grade, and I knew that preaching was really what God wanted me to do; everybody laughed. It was a really, serious stutter, and I could barely talk.
“To make a long story short, here it is, years later and people can’t shut me up,” Noble laughed.
Upon graduating from high school, Noble took an interest in political science and aspired for a career in politics, working as an intern for then-Gov. Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign.
“After a while I just got so fed up with politics, and I knew ministry was something I always wanted to do — just not full time, at that point.”
Noble then followed up his foray into politics with seminary school at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
“After that, I became a youth pastor for 12 years, while working on my Ph.D. before becoming a senior pastor,” Noble said. “And that took me to Grand Rapids, Mich.”
It was there at New Hope Baptist Church where Noble met a young student from nearby Grand Valley State University, who had happened into his church by “complete accident.”
“I was sleeping on a Sunday, and suddenly my phone rang and someone on the other line said, “Hey Jermale, are you coming to church today?” Jermale Eddie said.
“Now, there was another Jermale on campus, and I think they looked in the student directory and called the wrong one. Either way I didn’t know the guy but I got up, went down, met him, went to church and that’s where I first heard Derrick. What attracted me to him and the church was his teaching, not necessarily his preaching.”
The two struck a friendship in Michigan, and when Noble received an opportunity to head back down south to Texas, the two parted with a condition to reunite, if the right opportunity arose.
Noble began working with the United Methodist Church as senior pastor at Abundant Life United Methodist Church, where he had pastored for two years before getting another call to come to Port Arthur.
“When the First Presbyterian Church folded here in Port Arthur, Bishop Janice Huie bought the building for $2 million,” Noble said. “And she told me that she had an opportunity she wanted me to consider here in Port Arthur.”
Noble took to the task, but recalled his condition with Eddie and contacted his friend in Michigan.
“My wife, Anissa, and I both had jobs, we’d gotten married and had a house of our own,” Eddie said. “And then I get the call from Derrick to come to Port Arthur and be his youth pastor.”
“I told Jermale that I wouldn’t think about venturing into this opportunity without his help,” Noble said.
“Anissa and I prayed about it,” Eddie said. “And I came down and visited, and then prayed about it some more before we finally decided that this was where God led us to be.”
Packing their belongings into a two-door Honda Civic, the Eddie’s drove from Michigan to Texas with the money in their pockets and ready to begin God’s work, along with Noble, at Impact United Methodist Church in Port Arthur.
Located on Jefferson Drive, the focus of the church will be aimed at the youth of Port Arthur, taking a proactive approach to giving children something to do to help them become better individuals and out of trouble.
“I’ve been meeting some of the youth around here as I’ve been substitute teaching,” Eddie said. “They ask a lot of questions about snow. But as they’ve been getting to know me, I’ve been telling them, ‘Hey, I moved down here for you.’ I did, I moved down here to do God’s work, for Him and for them.”
Noble and Eddie are working to get the church building up to speed for their first service on Sunday, Jan. 11. With the slogan “A church for people like you,” Impact UMC is welcoming all in the community, young and old, to attend.
“We’ll be having services every other week to start out with,” Noble said. “That way, people can come in and see what we’re all about and hopefully get some people on board so when we are ready to have services every week. We’ll have people there prepared for the multitudes we’re hoping will come.
To learn more about Impact UMC, visit www.impactumc.org.
mtobias@panews.com
