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Wally Long: Finding God in the Midst of Unimaginable Family Tragedy
Description
At the age of 17 Wally came to know Jesus as Savior and a short time later, Wally felt called to ministry in some capacity. He did not know exactly how that would look but he surrendered to serve however and wherever God led him. Wally attended the Liberty Bible Institute in Lynchburg, Virginia for two years. In the summer of 1979, after his first year at LBI, Wally met the love of his life, Sylvia, while they served together ministering at the Treasure Island Children's Summer Camp through Thomas Road Baptist Church. They were married the next summer.
Although vocational ministry did not happen right away, Wally began to minister in music, teaching, or preaching wherever he and his small family found themselves. He enlisted in the US Marines in 1980 and served 10 years until December 1990. In 1991, Wally started a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Springfield, Missouri. Throughout their travels, Wally continued to minister in the churches where he and his wife were members. Wally retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and in 2014 was called to pastor a small Baptist church in Mount Vernon, Missouri, where he has been since.
Wally is involved in ministry to veterans and first responders through Peterson Outdoors Ministries. He spends a week each summer preaching at Ponca Bible Camp in Ponca, AR to 9th and 10th grade students. He and his church are also involved in ministering to those in the community who are in addiction recovery programs.
Wally and his wife, Sylvia, have 8 children and 9 grandchildren. In 1988, they began homeschooling their oldest daughter and continued the journey of homeschooling until their youngest daughter was enrolled in their local high school in 2020, where she graduated with honors in 2024.
In March 2024, Wally published his first book, Why Me, Lord? In this book he shares the lessons he learned through a series of tragedies that struck his family.