Pastor Bernie Jernigan answered the call to be pastor of Open Door Baptist Church on December 7, 2003.
Prior to his pastorate here at Open Door, he served for six years as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Oak Hill, WV, as well as pastorates in Dallas, TX, and Madison, TN. He received his B.R.E. from Nashville Bible College in 1989, his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1996, and had the degree of Doctor of Ministry conferred upon him in July 2011 by Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Gayle since September 1, 1978 and they have two sons, Joey and Stephen Jernigan. Both sons are married and as of 2011, they have three grandchildren. Pastor Jernigan enjoys preaching and teaching God's Word and has a heart for evangelism and discipleship. He has always held to conservative doctrinal positions as well as a conservative dispensational interpretation of Scripture.