Jesse Norris has preached more than 15,000 times in
his 60 years of evangelistic ministry – but
retirement is not an option.
“I’ll never retire – I’ll just refire,” the
84-year-old Pineville resident says.
Jesse Norris has preached more than 15,000 times in
his 60 years of evangelistic ministry – but
retirement is not an option.
“I’ll never retire – I’ll just refire,” the
84-year-old Pineville resident says.
A planter of 30 churches and missions, Norris has
preached in 25 states and ministered in countries
such as the West Indies.
“My ministry has been in highways and hedges, places
where no one but God has the power to bring people
to their knees and get right with their neighbor,”
insists Norris, who has preached at rodeos and on
street corners as well.
However, there was a time when Norris was forced to
the sidelines.
While praying on his knees in Magnolia, Ark., in
1996, Norris realized he could not stand up; he had
suffered a stroke.
Medical doctors told him they doubted he would be
able to return to the pulpit. However, seven years
later Norris is preparing to preach his 15,205th
sermon as he continues to “press on.”
Norris was born in Rogers, which had a population of
“eight people and three hog dogs” at the time, he
says. There, he says he learned the values of hard
work, faith and family.
One of seven children, his family raised more than
1,200 head of cattle in the small community 14 miles
southeast of Jena. The family showcased the cattle
at fairs and statewide rodeos.
Norris did not graduate from high school until he
was 25, when he attended Acadia Baptist Academy in
Church Point.
Most days at noon, Norris would meet with his
classmates for prayer. A perfect training ground for
his future ministry, Norris and his classmates would
travel around Acadiana, preaching to all who would
listen. He even would broadcast sermons over
loudspeakers that were attached to an automobile.
In fact, it was at the academy in 1943 that Norris
started his first of five sermon record books, when
he preached for the first time at Crossroads Baptist
Church in Sharptown.
“I do this because when I was in Church Point, I
wanted to have a record of where I go, so if anyone
needs help from those churches, I’d have it to help
them,” says Norris, who served as pastor at First
Baptist Church of Evangeline at the time he attended
the academy.
Ten years after preaching his first sermon, Norris
graduated from Louisiana College in Pineville, where
his wife also attended. The two have been married 58
years.
During his last year at Louisiana College, Norris
preached 36 revival meetings.
“Revival came to hundreds of churches, and many
souls were refreshed and many came to know the
Lord,” Norris says “The aspiration of the Holy
Spirit depends on man’s obedience. The power of the
Holy spirit in revival is something that no man can
fully describe and it would be folly to attempt it.
…
“We must depend upon God for revival.”
If there are modern day prophets on earth, Norris
is one of them, says Michael Griffith, pastor at
Cedar Glades Baptist Church in Mountain Pine, Ark.
“He loves others, especially preachers,” Griffith
notes. “He encouraged me not just to have a mediocre
walk with the Lord but to pursue holiness and
revival.”
These days, Norris holds Bible studies and offers
guidance to pastors in Louisiana and other states
who visit his home. Before the daily Bible study,
Norris has a personal Bible study time for a few
hours each morning. His home study room contains two
libraries with a total of 2,000 books.
“Since I’ve been sick, I’ve learned that if you
can’t visit those who seek counsel, they’ll come to
you,” Norris says.
W.D. Carson is one of many pastors Norris has
mentored throughout his years of ministry. Now
pastor at Pinehurst Baptist Church in Ball, Carson
remembers Norris as a pastor with a tremendous heart
for reaching the community.
“He was his own man – he didn’t copy anyone, and no
one copied him,” he recalls. “He has a love and
compassion for people and wanted to reach them for
Christ.”
Norris says the key to reaching the lost is to love
them as Christ did.
“No one can study the Bible just by intellect,”
Norris emphasizes. “You have to have the Spirit of
God and not have anything in your heart against
anybody.”
That love for others is what made Norris so
effective in soul-winning, says P.A. Paul, pastor at
Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Jena.
“In my opinion, he’s one of the most true and best
ministers I’ve ever met,” Paul says. “I’ve never
seen anyone like him. In the rural areas, he’s
probably the best-known Baptist preacher by the
common folks around this state.”
Though Norris has ministered for six decades, he
still is pressing on toward the goal of reaching the
lost for Christ.
“There’s still lots to be done,” Norris em