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The 40 years of service to the community of Port Arthur that has been provided by Rev. Pastor Randy G. Vaughn of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, can be attributed to his unwavering faith and humility of spirit to go when called and led under the inspiration of God.

Vaughn was born in Louisiana and moved to Beaumont at the age of 2. He graduated from Hebert High School in 1969 and moved to Long Beach, California, to attend college. He then entered the military as a sergeant in the Air Force, married and started a family.

In 1975, while in Long Beach, he started ministering but had always been active throughout his life in the church. He started as an assistant minister over the youth and various other ministries in the church.

“Eventually, I perceived God’s calling was for me to follow him, and that began my family’s faith journey,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn moved his family from California back to Beaumont in an act of faith that it was God’s will for their lives. He worked in the production department of the Beaumont Enterprise but fell ill and couldn’t continue. The ordeal gave him a stronger sense of his call to be in a ministry, but it also tested his faith.

After six months in the area, he was invited to become a pastor in Devers, Texas. The congregation was small and there was little for him to receive by way of compensation.

Even though he had a family and home to support, he took the challenge and accepted it as where God had led him to be.

“From that experience, I learned that God provides, takes care of his own and only requires our obedience,” said Vaughn.

The small church grew during his time there and after two and a half years a pastor position opened at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Port Arthur.

Vaughn found confirmation that he should accept the position after a series of events, in which he met with three people. In a span of two weeks all three people said they saw a vision of him as the pastor of Mount Sinai.

On Sunday, April 4th, 1983, Vaughn was elected as pastor of Mount Sinai.

“I went from the trail to the Boulevard,” Vaughn said.

He officially started pastoring the church in June of 1983.

Since his faith journey with the Church of Mount Sinai there have been many accomplishments. Mount Sinai has been the first African American church in the South to develop a nonprofit, he said. It has also provided leadership to other churches and served as an example to follow on how to successfully implement a vision of progress for community churches.

“I found a church not afraid of vision and a people who were willing to follow,” said Vaughn.

Mount Sinai has even been involved in helping to build more than 23 churches in the countries of Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Chile.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church has been the first major organization of color to receive a memorandum of the National Red Cross, according to Vaughn.

It served on the board of the National Volunteer Organization Active in Disaster, N.V.O.A.D., as well as contributed to the repair and recovery of the community after the destruction of several hurricanes.

Vaughn has earned a wealth of accolades since starting his ministry. He has talked at congressional committees, given briefings at the White House and traveled as a Faith Ambassador of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated, which met with the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland.

His ministry has brought him to many corners of the world, including the Vatican, South Africa, India and South Korea, to discuss international issues impacting the Christian community of faith.

All of what the Vaughn has accomplished, he attributes to the first order he received by God, which was to simply follow Him in faith that he and his family’s needs would be met.

“I hope that Mount Sinai will always continue as a church, giving of its services to the community and that it continues to follow God, winning the loss to Him,” Vaughn said.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church is located at 501 West Thomas Blvd. in Port Arthur. Its Sunday Worship Services are at 10 A.M. For further information, call 409–982- 6464.

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church is celebrating Vaughn and Sister Brenda Vaughn for their 40th year of service with the congregation and community. The event begins at 9:45 a.m. Sunday. All are welcome.

— Written by Nikita Harris