In the wake of Perry Noble’s termination as senior pastor at South Carolina’s largest church, NewSpring Church’s leadership wasted little time extending a call to Clayton King as the interim senior pastor.

The move has been lauded by many Christian leaders across the state and may ensure that NewSpring will avoid a significant attendance drop, which many churches often face following the departure of a longtime pastor. NewSpring has 17 campuses, with the latest, in Clemson, scheduled to open this fall.

Anderson University president Evans Whitaker stated: “I believe our friends at NewSpring have made a wonderful decision to call Clayton King as their interim pastor. He’s been preaching there for years as the teaching pastor, and he is a dear friend of former Pastor Noble, so the NewSpring folks already love and trust him.”

During the transition, King says he wants to “love and shepherd our people well.”

“I want to point them to Jesus Christ,” he said. “I want them to dig into His Word and see this challenging time as an opportunity to grow in their relationship with Jesus.” He added, “I also want to love and support my friend, Perry. We have been close for 26 years, and I love him and his family.”

King is the president of Clayton King Ministries and Crossroads Summer Camps, a non-profit evangelism and discipleship ministry. He and his staff have been leading Crossroads Summer youth camps for 21 years. This year, 5,000 teens will attend one of seven weeks of camp, with 600 spiritual decisions for Christ by the beginning of week 5. His Crossroads camp at the campus of Anderson University drew 1,100 teenagers during week 5 alone.

King is a graduate of Hillcrest High School in Simpsonville and Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina. He also holds the position of distinguished professor of evangelism at Anderson University, where his ministry is now located. He is the author of 14 books, and he and his wife, Sharie, recently relaunched “True Love Waits” through LifeWay Publishing.

When asked how South Carolina Baptists could pray for him, he responded, “Pray for Sharie and me, that we lean into each other as we lean on Jesus for strength and support. Pray for my two sons; they are excited about the new role. One of them said to me, ‘So, Daddy, you’re gonna be my pastor now, too! That’s cool!’ Pray also for our ministry and Crossroads Summer Camps.”

The announcement to the congregation of King’s new position as interim pastor was met with enthusiastic applause. Whitaker noted that “even with all his notoriety as an author, evangelist and organizational head, Clayton has a natural, consistently humble spirit. With him as senior interim pastor, I believe NewSpring will continue to thrive, win people to Christ, and create disciples of the Lord Jesus. More than anything, that is what Clayton wants to do.”

King noted that NewSpring is currently focusing on building community. He plans to approach his new opportunity with “fear and trembling, trying to rely on [God’s] grace and not my ability. It is a daunting task, but it’s not too big for God. I want to listen more than I speak, be patient, kind and humble, and lead by loving the people.”

He quickly confesses that he has no experience as a senior pastor, but adds, “God’s strength is perfected in our weakness.”

Church officials have indicated they will not be in a rush to find a pastor. King says, “I will serve the church for as long as I’m needed and in the capacity that the leadership feels I would be of greatest service for the Gospel. Sharie and I are excited about seeing what God will do, not just at our church but in ‘the’ Church across South Carolina, using all churches to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”