Texas City Sun Article 2

Wes Morgan: A Beacon of Faith Leaves Texas City

TEXAS CITY: From an early age, Morgan heard God’s calling. Now, that Voice tells him to move on

By Reagan O’Hare
Texas City Sun

From the very first moment he was called into ministry, Morgan said it was simple, he remembers his prayer, "You provide the way and I’ll follow."

Lettering in six high school sports, keeping his "C" average and muddling through school, his main interest was sports.

Then the Lord took hold of his heart. He knew he was going to be a minister.

To be a minister, he had to go to college. He didn’t have the grades. He didn’t have the money. With $10 and a little hard work, at mid-term he had all A’s.

Morgan completed his studies and received an associates degree and was then offered a scholarship at Bethany College in West Virginia.

Morgan then spent years touring the country speaking and leading retreats.

Then he said he felt led to spend more time in one place with his family. Twelve interviews later, Morgan became a part of the fellowship of First Christian Church of Texas City.

Sixteen years later, he’ll be leaving to become the pastor of First Christian Church in Conroe.

Rev. Wes Morgan is leaving the church, after more than 16 years, and moving to Conroe.

He remembers his exit off the plane and into the hands of his Texas City congregation for the first time.

Acknowledging the snickers on the sidelines about his taste for plaid, he said they were looking for a man dressed in a suit and tie. He wasn’t exactly what they were expecting.

When he hears their comments now he describes his view from the plane. He said, he looked out and "saw a crowd dressed like a search committee."

Morgan describes them as huddled up, nicely dressed, with a searching look on their faces.

Since first impressions, Morgan has worked within the community on various projects and seen hearts turn.

He’s the first one to admit he did not think he would be leaving any time soon. "I thought I was going to be here til my toes turned up," Morgan said.

Constantly receiving invitations from other churches, Morgan said he had turned down 400 requests over the past 16 years.

First Christian in Conroe was the first to ask through email. He didn’t have a form letter for this course of action, he said with a smile.

He and his wife, dragging their feet, agreed to look at the church.

That’s when he said God did a number on his heart. "The more we talked, the more it became evident that this is where we needed to be, Morgan said, "The church needed a lot of healing and that’s part of my ministry."

Besides feeling a tugging of the heart, Morgan said, everything just came together in a pattern of open doors. Morgan’s wife, Peg Morgan, who had her heart and mind set on staying in Texas City, had found a teaching position with a Conroe team she was excited about.

A member of the church had decided to leave for ministry in Mexico, offering her home for the pastor and his wife to stay, relieving them of housing pressures, Morgan said.

Morgan, now 60, was now sure that he was being led another direction and this was all part of God’s plan, he said. "I am convinced that’s really the way it is at first when we pray, but we don’t recognize it. If we really knew everything, we wouldn’t need God and that’s what faith is about."

Though the hardest part is saying goodbye, Morgan isn’t afraid. "I have this relationship with God which simply says, God holds the future and I have no (reason) to be afraid and all I have to do is have faith."

Rev. Wes Morgan, right, visits with Jack Erwin at the Texas City ISD Administration Building Thursday afternoon. Morgan and Erwin are both sponsors of the annual Back-to-School Supply Drive.