About Pastor Slater
I was born and grew up in eastern Kentucky, the son of Lloyd and Faye Slater. I was the oldest of five children with three brothers and one sister. My loving, caring, and praying mother always taught us about a loving God who cared for us.
I had the urge to leave Kentucky and go north, so in 1974, at the age of eighteen, I left home and came to Michigan. I got involved in the things of the world, including drugs and alcohol. I became much like the prodigal son in the Bible. I knew better, but I allowed the world to get the best of me. I wandered far from the teachings of my mother and the Bible.
God began dealing with me but I continued to rebel until I went back to Kentucky in March of 1979, still involved in drug and alcohol use. I thank the Lord for a godly, praying mother who never gave up on me. Even as I broke her heart with my bad habits, she continued praying for me and begging me to go to church with her. In the spring of 1980, just to get her off my back (and really hoping she would leave me alone), I finally agreed to go to church on Easter Sunday morning.
The preacher delivered a message from the Lord that convicted me deeply enough that I was compelled to go forward and give my heart and my life to the Lord. What a difference that Sunday morning made in my life! I was a totally different man. Jesus took away my desire for alcohol and drugs and He became the center of my being. I allowed Him to lead me in every aspect of my life. I was so eager to learn more about Jesus and the Bible that I spent hours and hours reading in His Word.
Two months after that fateful day I answered God's call to preach and in September of 1980 was licensed to preach. The following year I became an ordained minister and until 1983 I even had a 6:00 am Sunday morning radio program to minister the Word! During that same time I was also the Youth Pastor at the church I attended.
In 1984 the Lord led me back to Michigan and I attended the Woodhaven Free Will Baptist Church and was mentored by the Pastor, Reverend Lloyd Locklear. I stayed at that church until 1985. After leaving Woodhaven, I attended the Southgate Free Will Baptist Church and served as Youth Pastor there until 1990. The last eighteen months there I also served as Interim Pastor. In 1990 the Lord called me to the Rouge Free Will Baptist Church to serve as Pastor. The Lord has blessed my ministry here. He has led us from a small building in River Rouge to our current facilities in Wyandotte, Michigan. I thank the Lord and praise Him for His continued blessings on my life, my ministry, and the present work we are doing in this community. But I also thank Him for giving me a faithful and supportive wife, Kim, and for our son Justin . They are both true blessings to me.
History will record the rest of my story, which is in the Hands of our Lord and Savior, as I continue to always place Him and His work first in my life.
Reverend Danny L. Slater
Pastor, Rouge Free Will Baptist Church