These days Pastor Terry Hassell couldn’t be more passionate about his role in full-time ministry.

It’s hard to imagine that seven years ago he considered walking away from it.

The 49-year-old had spent years with his family pastoring churches in the US.

“At one point I realised it wasn’t what I wanted out of life,” he said.

“We were struggling with finances and other challenges, so I walked away from it for a point in time.”

He considers that to be his very own “Jonah experience”.

“Sometimes people aspire to be certain things and other times it just finds them. Ministry found me. I was called to it,” he said.

Pastor Hassell took a break from the traditional church setting from 2008 until 2010, and worked as a hospital chaplain for a clinical pastoral education programme at Emory University in Atlanta.

He ministered to patients in some of the “worst case scenarios’ who had been placed in the intensive care units of the neuroscience or transplant/surgical wards.

“Each day maybe two or three people died around me,” he said, “but it was through that situation that I got in touch with my own mortality. I really found out the significance of living.

“Through that whole process God was speaking to me. I learnt how to love people, listen to them and just be present with them because you can’t always explain death, particularly if it involves a young person who’s been involved in a tragic accident. You just have to stay with them and help the family process all of these emotions.

“Working with people through that, it taught me to really appreciate life, family and friends, and just people in general, because life can be snuffed out so quickly.”

Pastor Hassell said the experience helped him to reconnect with ministry.

“Christ really pulled me aside and showed me what ministry was all about,” he said. “I learnt it’s really about people and when I look at the life of Christ I look at how he was so focused on people and pouring himself into them.

“Being away from it really allowed me to miss it and allowed me to discover my passion for it.

“And today, now that I’m pastoring again, I’m extremely passionate about what it is that I do, to the umpteenth degree.”

Pastor Hassell is now working to inspire and encourage the congregation at Heard Chapel AME Church.

His goal is to introduce people to a transformative Jesus who has the power to change them from the inside-out.

“There are many people who know Him, but not many who have experienced the transformative power of Christ, so my task is to create an environment where people can experience Christ and how he can change perspectives on life and their situations.

“That change is what helps us to better navigate through life and the circumstances of life.”

Pastor Hassell will celebrate his 50th birthday with a special gospel concert in his honour tonight.

In lead up to the milestone he’s been doing a lot of reflection.

“Turning 50, I’m realising life isn’t all about the silver, gold, glitz and glitter,” he explained. “It’s about developing and maintaining relationships with people.

“I work very hard on relationships and maintaining relationships, which means there are many times that I have to remain humble and not always see things as they are, but as they can possibly be.

“I try to never look at the bad in people. I always strive to pull out a person’s potential.”

The relationships he’s most proud of? The one he has with wife, Andrea, and their three kids.

“My wife and I have been married for 28 years. We’ll be celebrating our 29th anniversary in August of this year and we have three awesome children as a result of our union, who I’m very proud of.

“My eldest son Teniko is 27, TeAnn is 20 and TeNae is 19. I’m so proud of the people they’ve become because to be honest I never really thought I was doing a great job of parenting.

“With my first son, my wife and I did everything by the book and had all the books on parenting, but by the third child we had thrown the books away.

“We are just so excited about the gifts God has given to us. They are each gifted and talented in their own right. All three are interested in the arts and are just phenomenal people. And I don’t say that just because they are my children.”

Pastor Hassell said his wife has been a huge encouragement to him throughout the years.

“We were high school sweethearts and got together when we were 13 years old and have been together forever.

“But through the ups and downs of life we’ve managed to maintain a really positive relationship and are still best friends.”

Pastor Haselll is looking forward to spending time with family and friends at tonight’s concert at Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.