Pastor John Flowers and Music Minister Jeffrey Wilson stand in front of the Church of Faith and Deliverance. Jose Perez / Neuse News

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year. Local faith leaders in the community shared the influence Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continues to have on their lives. 

“Dr. King through life and eternal rest has inspired me to be greater in all things.  I quote him often to push myself and to neutralize the negative. That can appear on all fronts of life,” said Senior Pastor Michelle Gooding of Hering Grove FWB church founded in 1918.

Pastor John J. Flowers, Jr of the Church of Faith and Deliverance also found influence in Dr. King. “He fought against inequality. He thought all of us were the same. It caught my attention.”

Jeffrey Wilson, a 29-year-old from Greenville who served in the ministry of music from the age of nine, shared his views of how Dr. King influenced him. “I find myself pattering myself after Dr. King in many ways. He was a scholar who went on to earn his Ph.D. I am finishing a doctorate in ministry,” said Wilson. 

Dr. King still has an impact on the world even 50 years after his death.

“I see Dr. King daily, I hear his footsteps and remember the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law that made it illegal to treat people, all people differently because of their skin color. And I often wonder when will we all abide, nationally, legislatively, culturally and neighborly,” said Gooding. 

Gooding believed his message was about everyone, that the world was in the fight for equality together. 

“His influence is still here. The spirit he has is still here. We are very inspired by his example by what he left. People are still fighting the same war, but we’re fighting it peacefully,” said Flowers.

2020 has highlighted many of the problems American’s are facing with inequality.

“I believe he would repeat his quote from a letter that he wrote while sitting in the Birmingham Jail...’Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere’. King explained justice on this wise, that laws are manmade but justice is divine, and for a law to truly be considered just, it cannot conflict with moral law,” said Gooding.

Though he died before his mission was complete, Dr. King’s influence will continue.

“Dr. King didn’t see all of his dreams fulfilled and it's encouraging to us to know that we may not see all of our dreams fulfilled in our timespan but those dreams still have impact. Those dreams still have power and influence,” said Wilson. 

Communication is key to resolving the differences still present in America.

“We don’t know how to disagree. I think that is what he would be preaching today,” said Flowers. “If we could just communicate and let one another know that it’s okay to be different.”

While American’s experienced racial division in 2020 that left destruction in many cities throughout the country, peaceful protests also brought people together.

“Dr. King would say we still have work to do as American people. There are a lot of things he stood for and tried to fight against that didn’t get done. It’s our job now,” said Wilson.