Neal grew up in Little Rock and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a degree in accounting. He knew even before graduating that God was calling him into ministry leadership and began taking classes at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary satellite campus in Little Rock to prepare.
Neal entered vocational ministry as campus minister at a community college in south Arkansas while finishing his master's degree in seminary. After seminary, he served fifteen years at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR as a campus minister before coming to Northstar. Neal also co-pastored at Fellowship Church for ten of the fifteen years. During that time he completed a doctorate in ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Neal and his wife Teresa have six children; Emma, Elijah, Ethan, Nora, Eva and Everett. Teresa works from home teaching the kids everything from math to how to defend themselves from one another.
Connect with Neal
“What happened to the green house?” was a question John Shockley asked me before a leadership meeting. My response was to ask him what he meant. He then told me that he had driven past it on the way to the meeting, and someone had mowed, weed-eated, and generally cleaned up the property which had been looking unkept and uncared …
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 ESV) An attitude of service is non-negotiable for a follower of Christ, the actions of service flow from a heart adjustment powered by the Spirit’s reminder of Jesus’ example. He served with His life and …
Tell us a little about yourself: I grew up in Pulaski County and both my parents worked for VT for as long as I can remember, so I was pretty familiar with VT, which was a big draw. The vet school is also a big draw as that’s my ideal career. What or who brought you to Northstar? In undergrad, …
We are excited to welcome Dylan and Carol Lischau into our Northstar family! If you haven’t had a chance to meet them yet, look for them on Sunday morning! They began visiting in June 2018 and joined after they moved to Blacksburg from Texas in September 2018. Tell the church a little about yourself. Dylan is a student at ATP …
We are excited to welcome Jacob and Stephanie Cordray (with Rowan and Josie) into our Northstar family! If you haven’t had a chance to meet them yet, look for them on Sunday morning! They began visiting in August 2017 and joined in August 2018. What are your vocations? Stephanie teaches 3rd grade for Montgomery County Public Schools and Jacob co-owns …
We are excited to welcome Taylor and Maddie Young (with Halee) into our Northstar family! If you haven’t had a chance to meet them yet, look for them on Sunday morning! They began visiting in July 2017 and joined in September 2018. Tell us a little about yourselves: Taylor is a second year veterinary student at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary …
There have been so many great stories from our first Be N Go event in 2018. We need to be grateful for God’s favor as we sought to do something out of the box as a church. The gratefulness (and surprise) of the neighbors that were invited to a meal, a neighborhood event, or taken donuts and other gifts by …
The Monday of Passion Week has always been associated with two events: Jesus Curses the Fig Tree (Mark 11: 12-14) and Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Luke 19:45-48). Both of these events at first glance seem out of character with current stereotypes of Jesus. The harsh tree cursing man and the “wild man” in the temple cleansing are judgmental and confrontational. Evidently the …
Saturday, May 6 was a record breaking day. According to Aaron Peck, May 6 saw the lowest high in Virginia weather history or something like that. It was cold. And the record for the most cars of volunteers washed by Northstar staff: something under 100 cars in two hours. Okay, maybe I am not being serious about the facts but …
