Who Is America's Greatest Pastor? It's a Two-Way Tie!
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
“How well you do your labor unto God actually determines the inheritance you will receive from Him when you join Him in heaven.” – Os Hillman
If there was an award given for “America’s Greatest Pastor”, I am sure that people would nominate men like Jonathan Falwell, pastor of the 24,000 member Thomas Roads Baptist Church in Lynchburg VA or David Platt, who shepherds the 16,500 members of the McLean Bible Church in McLean VA. Then there is Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship (15,000 members) and Raul Ries of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (12,000 members), both of whom have their own popular radio broadcasts.
They are all good men, and God has used them mightily, but if I had a vote for America’s greatest pastor, it would be a toss-up between Bill Waltz and Dave McMurray. Never heard of them, you say? Well, that’s probably because neither man has a TV or radio program and their congregations are less than 100 people each.
Bill Waltz has served as pastor of Cinnaminson Baptist Church in South Jersey for 41 years and counting. With just a few dozen attendees, Bill and his lovely wife Barb do pretty much everything at CBC, from running VBS to leading the music program. They also do more than their share of general maintenance around the building.
As for Dave McMurray, he just celebrated 50 years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Blackwood NJ. No, that’s not a typo. At a time when the average pastor lasts 3-5 years before leaving for “greener pastures,” Pastor Dave and his beautiful bride Carm put down roots at FBC a half century ago and stayed put through good times and bad.
Both Bill and Dave are eloquent speakers who could have left their congregations to serve at much larger churches (and for much larger paychecks). However, they didn’t respond to God’s call to ministry for fame or fortune, and I believe with all my heart that their quiet faithfulness will be richly rewarded in heaven… perhaps far more so than the pastors of more prominent megachurches.
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’” Matthew 25:23 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
