Spurlin clergy and ministries

This page lists Christian ministers and religious workers surnamed Spurlin. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century figures come mostly from church histories, denominational yearbooks and digitized newspapers. Present-day figures come from church websites and local news.

Baptist

A Kentucky preaching family

Four generations of one Christian County, Kentucky, family were Baptist preachers.^[1][2]

• James Utley Spurlin (1824–1909) was, according to Frank M. Masters's 1953 history of Kentucky Baptists, "one of the most noted rural pastors in West Kentucky". He helped constitute Sinking Fork Baptist Church in 1849 and was its first pastor until 1881.^[1][2]
• His son, Rev. John H. Spurlin of Sturgis, had been preaching for nearly 30 years by 1907, according to the Hopkinsville Kentuckian.^[3] Masters lists an Elder J. H. Spurlin as pastor of Harmony Church in the Little River Association from 1898 to 1902, and the Sinking Fork history names a J. H. Spurlin as the uncle of L. L. Spurlin.^[1][2]
• The 1907 article also names a grandson, Rev. Lindson Spurlin, son of Alfred Spurlin.^[3] The Sinking Fork history names L. L. Spurlin as J. U. Spurlin's grandson.^[2] In 1913 the Kentuckian reported Rev. L. L. Spurlin "coming from Crofton" to officiate at a wedding, and in 1932 he was elected assistant moderator of the Christian County Baptist Association.^[4][1]
• L. L.'s son J. T. Spurlin (1908–2000, per Find a Grave) organized the First Baptist Church of Juneau, Alaska, in 1946. He presided over the first sessions of the Alaska Baptist Convention.^[2][5][6]

Other Baptist ministers

• James M. Spurlin (1802–1887) served Baptist churches in eastern Alabama and western Georgia. He is buried at Antioch Baptist Church in Fayette County, Georgia.^[7]
• W. H. Spurlin (born 1833) of Tipton County, Indiana, was a member of the "Separate" Baptist church. An 1898 county history says he began preaching about 1864 and was ordained the next year.^[8]
• Chris Spurlin is pastor of Brookside Baptist Church in Oxford, Alabama, and president of the Oxford city council.^[9]
• TJ Spurlin is pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist church in Lowgap, North Carolina. His SermonAudio profile says he began preaching in August 2022 and has been the church's pastor since April 3, 2024. In September 2026 the site listed him as the church's primary speaker, with 164 sermons.^[10] From 2022 to 2023 he also published a podcast under his own name, described as "Sermons by Evangelist TJ Spurlin", which had 43 episodes.^[11] The church's sermon podcast is listed on Apple Podcasts under his name.^[12]
• Steve Spurlin was named in the Baptist Message's "Louisiana Notables" column of 20 August 2021 as pastor of First Baptist Church, Berwick, Louisiana. He was scheduled to speak at a unity revival at Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton.^[13]
• Steve Spurlin has been teaching pastor of Cornerstone Bible Church in Lubbock, Texas, since June 2010, according to the church. He was previously pastor of First Baptist Church in Viola, Arkansas, for five years.^[14] The sources do not show whether he is the same man as the Louisiana pastor.

Churches of Christ

• Bob Spurlin (1945–2016) was a graduate of the Memphis School of Preaching. He preached for congregations in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida and wrote Tackling Life's Troubles (2000) and Don't Ever Give Up (2003).^[15][16] The Algood church of Christ lists him among its former preachers.^[17]
• Paul Spurlin, his son, is Connections Minister at the Piedmont Road Church of Christ in Marietta, Georgia, according to his website, and hosts a podcast.^[18][17]

Methodist

• James Clinton Spurlin (1890–1984), born at Ennice, North Carolina, was a Methodist minister in the Holston Conference for 43 years. He was living at Rural Retreat, Virginia, when he died.^[19]

Presbyterian

• William Dexter Spurlin (1860–1935), usually "Rev. W. D. Spurlin, D.D.", was a Southern Presbyterian minister. He was pastor at Monroe, Louisiana, from 1889 and at Laurel, Mississippi, from 1909 to 1911.^[20][21][22]

Catholic

• Sister Kathleen Spurlin, BVM (1925–2023) was a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After years of teaching she became a chaplain at correctional institutions in Clarksdale and Leakesville, Mississippi.^[23]

Nondenominational and independent ministries

• Andy Spurlin is pastor of Restoration Christian Church in Park Rapids, Minnesota. He has written devotional columns for the Park Rapids Enterprise from at least December 2022.^[24] The paper's church directory lists the congregation as meeting at the Park Rapids Library.^[25] He also leads Andy Spurlin Ministries, a nonprofit that dates its work to 2003.^[26]
• Rita Spurlin, a gospel singer of Valdosta, Georgia, formerly of Moultrie, released the CD Singing My Way Home in 2012, according to the Moultrie Observer. The paper quoted the Rita Spurlin Ministries website and said her music ministry team had performed in churches, nursing homes, jails, prisons and children's homes.^[27]

Spurling variant

The Spurling spelling has a better-known religious history. R. G. Spurling and his father Richard Spurling were early leaders of the movement that became the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).^[28]