Neal Hatfield

My dad, Evangelist Neal Hatfield, is the man who showed me what an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ looks like. He is far too humble to tell his own story, so I am honored to share it as a daughter who has watched it unfold firsthand.

Growing up, I never understood why strangers would stop my father in parking lots, church lobbies, and airports (often with tears in their eyes) to tell him how much he had changed their lives. Now, at thirty-three, I understand completely.

My parents met while working at Disney World. Dad often says that when he met my mom, Sue, she was the most passionate follower of Jesus he had ever met. He still says that today. As he sought to understand the faith that shaped her life, he encountered Jesus Christ for himself - and that decision changed everything.

They married, attended Heritage College in Orlando, FL and during those years God began placing a vision on their hearts. In 1986, with little more than faith and a calling, they loaded everything they owned into a 1969 travel trailer given to them by a family from their church and drove 700 miles north to pursue what they believed God was leading them toward.

That vision became Uplands Reach Conference Center, the place I grew up and called home.

Founded as a nonprofit ministry, Uplands Reach was created to help people encounter Jesus Christ through biblical teaching, retreats, conferences, and camps. As a little girl, I ran barefoot across the fields of the 107-acre campus in the foothills of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, watching my parents pour themselves into something far bigger than themselves. I was witnessing more than the growth of a ministry. I was watching faith lived out every single day.

What my parents built was never just a conference center. It was an altar; a place where people from every background and every stage of life could encounter the living Jesus Christ. Year after year, I watched campers arrive carrying burdens, questions, and struggles - and leave with renewed faith, changed perspectives, and a deeper relationship with God.

But my father was never content to wait for people to come to him.

For decades, he has faithfully preached the Gospel in churches, revival meetings, youth rallies, conferences, and special events across the country. Some of my strongest childhood memories are of a packed suitcase by the front door, knowing Dad was headed out again to tell people about Jesus. He never sought attention or recognition. He simply went because he believed people needed Christ.

One of his deepest passions has always been raising up strong spiritual leaders. I have watched young men arrive distracted and indifferent, only to leave with a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to follow God more closely. He has a unique ability to speak directly to the heart, not through personality or performance, but through the power of God's Word.

Those who know him best say it well. K. Allan Blume, former editor of the Biblical Recorder and our pastor for many years, described him as "a man of integrity and a rock-solid preacher of God's Word" whose "passion for souls is unmistakable." His longtime pastor Greg Heisler wrote that Neal and Sue "love Jesus more than anything in this world" and that God has given Neal a deep burden for souls and the Gospel.

In May 2013, Foothills Christian College and Seminary honored Dad with a Doctor of Divinity degree - a recognition that meant a great deal to our family, though he rarely mentions it. He is far more interested in pointing people to Christ than talking about his own accomplishments.

Throughout his ministry, he has never charged a set fee to preach. He considers it a privilege simply to share the Gospel. Our family and the ministry of Uplands Reach have always operated by faith. I watched my parents trust God for the electric bill, the next meal, and the next season of ministry. Time and time again, God proved faithful.

My father is not a man who seeks recognition. He is a man who seeks souls.

“Jesus Christ radically changes lives.”

Jesus Christ radically changes lives. My father believes it with everything he has. He lives it. And because of his faithful obedience, countless people around the world believe it too.

— Joanna Hatfield Anderson, Neal's Daughter