Retiring pastor Ronnie Arnold celebrated at Cedar Hill Baptist Church

TOP PHOTO:  People lined up to wish Pastor Ronnie Arnold a happy retirement.

Cedar Hill Baptist Church’s retiring pastor, Rev. Ronnie Arnold, shares a hug with long time church member Vivian Douglas at Arnold’s retirement celebration Sunday evening at the church.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Long-time Cedar Hill Baptist Church Pastor Ronnie Arnold was celebrated at his retirement party Sunday evening.  Arnold had pastored  the church for 31 years. The fellowship hall of the church was packed with people attending to wish Arnold a happy retirement.  Arnold said he was honored to have pastored at the church for more than three decades.

Arnold grew up in Knox County, but was often in Campbell County to visit his grandparents, Claude and Stella Heatherly.

Alicia Braden and her daughter Josie  were among the many well wishers on Sunday evening during Rev. Ronnie Arnold’s retirement after 31 years of preaching at Cedar Hill Baptist Church.

“My mother was raised out in Davis Chapel,” Arnold said, adding that when he came to Campbell County, it “was like coming home.”

According to Arnold, “becoming a preacher was the last thing he thought he would do.”  At age 32, he held a graduate degree from the University of Tennessee in Engineering and business.

He attended seminary in Memphis.  “When I was 32, the Lord led me to the ministry and through the Arkansas Baptist Convention, I started a church out in Arkansas,” Arnold said.

Upon arrival to Cedar Hill Baptist Church 31 years ago, Pastor Ronnie Arnold called his wife Kathy “the best associate pastor I have.”

In 1989, he began preaching at Cedar Hill Baptist Church.  He said it felt like it “all just started yesterday.”  He also said he felt that he had been placed “right where he belonged.”

“This isn’t about me, it’s about God plugging us into a group of people where we belong and into a community that was very receptive to our fellowship,” Arnold said.

Church members spoke up during the celebration event, wishing Arnold well on his retirement and telling him how much he will be missed as pastor.  Arnold said his health had a lot to do with his retirement.

Arnold has been fighting cancer since 2005 and has suffered with multiple health issues.  He said he and his wife plan to continue to be as active in the church and the community as his health will allow.  He and Kathy  raised four children in Campbell County and said it’s “just been a good time all around.”

“It’s been wonderful being pastor and being a part of the community these last 31 years,” Arnold said.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/08/2020-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLOTTE UNDERWOOD)