Mary Kay grew up in the Seven Springs area. She gave her heart to the Lord Jesus when she was 7 years old. Grew up in a hard working, loving family. She graduated from East Carolina University with a BS degree in Family & Consumer Science, Business and Education, with a double minor in English and Political Science. She worked as a legislative secretary in the NC General Assembly from the age of 21 to the age of 26. She returned home to Seven Springs and began working in sales and marketing jobs for six years.
Then she began teaching 8th grade math, Family and Consumer Science 6th-12th grades then 7th grade English/Language Arts; in the public school system in Wayne County. Towards the end of her teaching career and through personal struggles and raising two children as a single parent, the Lord began to gently call her to more. She earned a BS degree from the University of Mount Olive in Religion. While continuing to teach she served as a part-time children's director at a local church.
About a year and a half later, she experienced a Holy Spirit calling into pastoral ministry. She then transitioned to pastoring in the United Methodist Church, while teaching full-time, working on her Masters of Divinity degree and raising her two children, with family support. She did this for five and a half years, then resigned from the United Methodist Church. Her reason was that she believed that the leadership was leaving the Holy Word of God. She resigned from teaching to concentrate on pastoring. Then resigned from the UMC denomination and simply went where she was called to fill in on Sunday mornings in the surrounding area. Her five and a half years of seminary training were on-line with Asbury Theological Seminary, in Kentucky. She then transferred to Regent University in Virginia. She was only on-line there a few weeks, when she decided to stop and help her father look after her mother. This was in 2017. She had remarried in 2013 to Thomas Gordon Best who has become the love of her life. He had a grown son when they married and her daughter was in college and her son was 10.
They have been married for twelve years and their three children are grown, one is married with two children. The family feels blessed to have one another and they love and respect one another. The youngest member of the family, who lives with Tom and Mary Kay is Cotton. The sweetest English/Golden Retriever in the world. He is loved by everyone, especially Mary Kay. In 2023 Mary Kay got a call from a little country church to fill in until they could find a pastor. This church broke away from the United Methodist denomination and is an independent church. Mary Kay has been there ever since. She and Tom love serving and helping all who enter. She preaches/teaches the word and is concerned for every soul and believes that every soul should be loved into the Kingdom of God.