Ronald Clyde Sumners was born August 20, 1949 to Clyde and Virginia Sumners.  Ron would spend his growing up years in Childersburg, Alabama and Creswell, Alabama.  (Creswell is a small unincorporated community in rural Shelby County, Alabama). Ron and family moved from Childersburg to Creswell in 1956, the year that his brother, Joe Sumners, was born. 

 

He graduated from Vincent High School in 1967, where he served as President of the Student Council and was a multi-sport athlete (football, basketball, and baseball).  He then attended and graduated with a BA degree from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.  

 

After graduation he married his high school sweetheart, Karen "Prissy" Elliott.  

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He then received his M. Div. degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.  Later he would earn his D. Min. from Southwestern Theological Seminary.  

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Ron would hold ministerial positions in churches in Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama.  He also served as assistant director for the Baptist Campus Ministries at Auburn University.  

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In the early 1990s Ron was called to serve as pastor of the Meadow Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He led the church to continuous growth and mission involvement. Ron was involved in dozens of mission trips within the United States and in China, Africa, Central America, and South America.  He served the church for nineteen years before illness forced him into an early retirement.  

 

He died at his home on December 29, 2016.  He is survived by his wife, Prissy Sumners, his daughter, Katie Sumners Kostakis (husband Johnathon Kostakis), his son, Sam Sumners, and his brother, Joe Sumners.  His mother passed away in 2017 and his father died in January 2021.

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Ron lived a life of integrity, purpose, and consequence.  The sermons on this site represent a sample of sermons from his 40 plus year ministry.  They are offered to honor his life and ministry.

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A collection of Ron's sermons is housed at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.  The collection (#AR 979) includes 175 sermons preached by Ron from 1993 to 2011 at Meadow Brook Baptist Church.  The sermons cover a wide range of topics, including theology, Christian living, stewardship, the role of the Church, prayer, missions, family concerns, and special Sunday topics.  

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