As Bill Curtis sees it, you “maximize whatever ability God gives you” and then you’re ready for his service, whatever that might be. That philosophy has been useful to the Florence pastor who has been a city police officer, high school teacher, freelance newspaper writer and adjunct seminary professor — all of this after saying early on, “I knew the Lord would lead me into ministry at some point.”

Curtis, who was born in California but says that Tennessee is his “adopted state,” has been pastor since 2002 at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Florence, which in May moved into its new facilities on a 53-acre site at exit 137 off I-20. Cornerstone formerly met in several buildings within the city of Florence.

Designed “with families in mind,” the 34,000-square-foot building, with seating for 500 people, includes state-of-the-art sound and video capabilities for a blended style of worship that, according to Curtis, “breaks down the stereotypes of what it takes for a person to attend church.”

Describing Cornerstone as a theologically conservative church with a “culturally relevant” approach to ministry, Curtis says, “We want to do whatever it takes to introduce people to Jesus.” He continues, “We’re working hard to make Cornerstone a place where people from any social or economic background may worship, united in purpose around Jesus Christ and the inerrant word of God.”

Curtis sees “walls of separation coming down” as he looks over a congregation made up of a growing number of ethnic members, although the numbers are not yet large within Cornerstone’s membership of more than 500.

He also is leading Cornerstone to be “actively involved in church planting throughout the world” as well as serving as a resource for “believers and other churches in the region who want to strengthen the work of the kingdom of God.”

A young church, Cornerstone has contributed more than $100,000 to the Cooperative Program in the past three years and, as part of its involvement in the convention’s Acts 1:8 strategy, has begun a five-year partnership with a New York church in Manhattan called “The 411.”

“We’ve also adopted a region of Brazil as our first overseas church-planting effort,” he points out, “with a plan to adopt a church plant on every continent within the next 10 years.”

In time, Cornerstone will partner with a church in the Carolinas as well, Curtis notes.

As president of the South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference, as well as a trustee of Charleston Southern University and trustee chairman for the North American Mission Board, Curtis is — and has been — heavily involved in denominational endeavors. Formerly, he was a two-term member of the state convention’s committee on committees and has served on the SCBC’s resolutions committee.

For Curtis, whose father’s career with the FBI led to numerous moves by the family, the path to where he is now began most noticeably in the Volunteer State, where he graduated from Tennessee Temple University in 1986, majoring in Bible and English.

He took a job with the Chattanooga police department and, because he “enjoyed writing,” enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where he earned a master’s degree in English in 1993. During that time, he also did some freelance writing for local newspapers.

In 1987, while on the police force in Chattanooga, he married Lyla Ford, a former high school classmate.

For a year, he was associate pastor for evangelism and education at Spring Creek Road Baptist Church near Chattanooga, working with pastor Tim Dowdy, who later accepted a call to Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Stockbridge, Ga., and now is a Georgia representative on NAMB’s board of trustees. Dowdy is still pastor there after 18 years.

Curtis later joined the staff at Eagle’s Landing, where he was ordained to the ministry and served as associate pastor of education and music. In 1993, Curtis entered Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., earning master of divinity and Ph.D. degrees, paying for his studies as an adjunct professor at Southeastern, teaching English composition and preaching. He served several churches before graduating in 2001.

From February 2000 until August 2002, Curtis was pastor of First Baptist Church in Florence. Before becoming pastor at Cornerstone in December 2002, he gave serious thought to a return to teaching, including conversations with Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky. “I feel very comfortable in the classroom,” he says, “and I hope God will continue to give me opportunities to teach in the days ahead.”

Curtis and his wife Lyla, employed at McLeod Hospital in Florence and a trustee of The Baptist Courier, have two daughters — Cherie, an incoming freshman at North Greenville University, and Cassie, a high school sophomore. Cherie graduated from Florence Christian School, where she was valedictorian and a Palmetto Fellow. She received a full academic scholarship and a partial tennis scholarship to attend North Greenville. Cassie, a gifted singer, will be home-schooled so she can graduate early and attend North Greenville while her sister is still there.

Curtis sees a continuous thread through the diverse experiences and opportunities that God has brought into his life through the years — the grace of God. “It takes years of experiences for God to shape our character, and he uses both the positive and the negative ones to do so. He even finds an amazing way to take our failures and to use them for our good. As a result, if we succeed in any ministry opportunity, it is always a result of his grace. My simple prayer is that God will continue to use me in whatever ways will magnify his glory and point people to Jesus.”