bishop Raymond Aven, Pastor
RETURNED TO PASTOR HIS HOME CHURCH ON AUGUST 21, 2005
Raymond Aven, born February 6, 1963, in Charleston Mississippi, is the son of Troy Aven, who lives in Batesville, and the late Betty Aven.
At the age of 15, Raymond accepted the call to the ministry. During his junior year of high school, he completed the Ministerial Internship Program under Supervising Pastor D.C. Tatum from 1980 to 1981 at New Hope Church of God. After graduating from South Panola High in 1982, he began a College Correspondence Program with Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, to help him prepare for the ministry.
Brother Aven served on the Mississippi State Youth Board for 9 years; Mississippi Council for 4 years; as District Youth Director for the Batesville and Tupelo District; District Overseer for Margantown District; and the State Benevolence Director for 13 years. In 1999, he founded the Compassion Food Ministry and still serves as Director. He was Youth Pastor for Family Church in Pearl and Gulfport, a State Evangelist, Pastor at Amory Church of God, Springdale Church of God, and now New Hope Church of God. In 2009 he became our District Overseer.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR
What a privilege it has been for me to pastor this great church family for 20 years. I have watched the hand of our Heavenly Father as he took a small congregation with a big heart and grew them both spiritually and physically into the congregation it has become today. The men, women, boys and girls that sit on these pews each Sunday are our Lord's gift to this community. They are filled with love, the word and our Lord's spirit.
St. Mathew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36: Master which is the great commandment in the law? 37: Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thou God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38: This is the first and great commandment. 39: The second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self. 40: On these two commandments all the law and prophets.
The commission that's been given to the New Hope Family has been to love our Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and to love all of those we come in contact with. We are a New Testament Church that preaches and teaches the word of God, we worship together, pray together, fellowship together are growing together into the fullness of Christ. I am so honored to be the under shepherd of this church family where Christ is the chief shepherd.
Raymond Aven
Pastor
bishop Ken Watson, Associate Pastor
About our Brother Ken
Ken Watson is the Associate Pastor at New Hope Church in Batesville.
Together with his wife Beverly, Ken serves as both Associate Pastor and Youth Pastor.
Previously, Ken was the Lead Pastor at Charleston Church of God, a role he held for five years. He has dedicated 26 years to pastoral ministry.
Ken has been actively involved in alcohol and drug addiction ministry, developing innovative programs across the United States. Most recently, he launched the Charleston Recovery Center in 2024.
He is a proud father of four children and grandfather of five grandchildren.
Ken has owned Watson Paint Contractors for 27 years and is currently employed with the South Panola School District Maintenance Department.