Country Parson Called To Malakoff Methodist
From The Malakoff News
Friday, March 4, 1966
Billie B. Bonner, who calls himself the Country Parson, has taken
over the reins
and assumed his duties as pastor of the First Methodist Church of
Malakoff.
The Rev. Bonner succeeds the former pastor of four years, The
Rev. Thomas L. Jones
who was appointed to fill the pastorate of the Methodist Church
of Grand Saline.
The appointments became necessary with the death of one of the
ministers in the
Texas conference.
Bonner brought his first message to the local congregation last
Sunday, February 27.
He is a native of Smith county, southeast of Tyler, and he
entered the Methodist ministry
after a varied career in business and industry, in 1947.
Bonner says, "I got the title ‘Country Parson' from a
radio program which I had for two
years on KIMP, Mt. Pleasant, Texas. It was a weekly,
interdenominational program for
the promotion of small churches of all denominations and gave a
special salute to a
different one each week."
He received his education at Omen High School; Tyler Commercial
College; Stephen F. Austin
State College, Nacogdoches; and Perkins School of Theology, SMU,
in Dallas. He attended
Lon Morris College and is a member of the board of Development.
Rev. Bonner has served as pastor at Homer Methodist Church,
Lufkin; Timpson Circuit Methodist
Churches; Winfield Circuit; Karnack; China-Nome; Fairfield; and
Aldersgate Methodist Church
serving Alta Loma, Arcadia and Algoa communities in Galveston
County.
He is an evangelist, preaching many revivals each year, usually
in the small town and country area.
Bonner says he is a firm believer in community and civic
improvements and has for the past sixteen
years channeled his energy in this area through the local Lions
Clubs. He has served every local
level office in the Lions Club and is past president of Mt.
Pleasant Texas Lions; Karnack Caddo
Lake Lions and Nome, Texas Lions.
He is a member of the Town and Country Commission of the
Methodist Church, Texas Conference;
is a trustee of the Texas Conference Lakeview Cemetery for
Ministers and their families and was
honored with one of the "Rural Pastor of the year
Awards" for work in 1953-54.
In hobbies, Bonner is an artist in the "primitive" area
or "realist" area. He does plastic casting and
various kinds of handcrafts. He loves to do color slide
photography "when I can afford it. " He is a
member of the International Order of Oddfellows and past-grand of
John M. Gibson Lodge No. 13 in
Marshall, Texas.
Rev. Bonner and his wife began their residency in Malakoff in the
new parsonage last week, upon
the vacancy of the Rev. Jones and his family.
Submitted by Britt Thompson RBTNYU81@aol.com
If you have any information on Malakoff history please contact Britt, he is the correspondent for The Malakoff News Looking Back Column.
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