Biography of Sam Shorrosh
My father's family originated in the city of Nazareth back when it was still part of TransJordan. My grandfather was the first native, ordained pastor, of the Baptist Church in Nazareth. In 1948, within the tragic circumstances of war, Augustine Shorrosh was killed and his family was forced to flee to a refugee camp in Jordan.
In the camp, they joined thousands of others, in a situation that would have drained hope from anyone, and which birthed many a terrorist over the last sixty years. However, God had a different plan for the pastor's family. Missionaries from America, working in the Baptist Hospital in Ajilon, finally found the family, and Augustine's son was given the opportunity to come to America and get an education.
Anis, third of four children, was delivered to Newton, MS where he took preparation courses to complete high school, then entered Clark Memorial Junior College. Graduating from there, he went on to Mississippi College (now University) in Jackson, MS. Graduating with a bachelor's degree he went on to New Orleans Baptist Seminary, graduating with a Masters of Divinity. While a student on campus, he met my mother (Nell Martz), a nursing intern at Charity Hospital.
My mother's family includes pastors as well. My great grandfather served as a pastor in both Baptist and Methodist churches and was killed while ministering to victims of a coal mining accident. His son, my grandfather, grew up an only child, and was himself called into ministry. One of the things he did was perform the wedding for my parents, held at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Enterprise. Rev. Otto Martz was a church planter. He established 40+ churches in his lifetime including key churches in Citronelle, AL and Enterprise, AL. He passed away at age 94 having pastored for 73 years.
I was the first child born to Anis and Nell Shorrosh in 1959. Later that year, we moved to Jerusalem, Jordan to begin serving in the mission field. Anis pastored two churches and Nell served as pianist and nurse to the doctors at a mission station called Bet Hanina. My brother Paul was born at Ajilon Baptist Hospital in 1961. Steve came along while we were back in the states on leave, and was born, like me, at Baptist Hosptial in New Orleans, LA. We returned to Jerusalem and lived there until just before the Six-Day War when we fled to Beirut. We made it back to the USA and settled down in south Alabama and Anis went into evangelism.
Anis began taking trips to the Holy Land in 1968, with his first group out of Mobile are churches. Since then he has taken about 50 groups. In 1970, the entire family took a nine-month visit to Bangalore, India, while Anis worked with Billy Graham ministries and others to carry out crusades across India. Hundreds of thousands of people came to Christ and we all learned to appreciate yet another culture. We returned in 1971, and upon our return Nell gave birth to Victoria, the youngest of us.
I graduated from Fairhope High School in 1977 and went to Mississippi College where I was the Choctaw mascot. But, I transferred to the smaller and more comfortably sized Clarke College where my father had attended. I graduated from Clarke with an Associates in Admin/Accounting in 1979. From there, I went on to Samford University where I graduated with the BS in Administration and minors in accounting/marketing/finance and performance cello!
I began my own business right out of Samford and began marketing my skills gained in school and numerous part-time jobs in college. My first business was a real estate investment company and I bought and sold a few properties, branched out into insurance and financial investments, and began offering management services to small business. I enjoyed the variety and the challenges of leading in different settings.
In 1984, I met Sherry, and we were married in 1985. A few years later, Michael came along. And, in 1992, answering a call to ministry, I returned to school, earning the MDIV in Biblical Studies with Languages, then the MA in Education with a focus on administration, followed by the MTh in Christian Thought, and finally, the PhD in Education in 2006.
Today we live in Alabama where I serve under two umbrellas:
1. Shepherd's Way Consulting - Providing lead management to churches, para-churches, and other non-profit organizations.
2. SAS Business Consulting Services - Management, Operations, and Quality Assurance leadership to the for-profit sector.
We hope to add a new business for our local area: Shorrosh & Associates Accounting & Bookkeeping Services. We are still trying to settle on a location and then business permits, registration fees, and so on will follow. Hopefully, this can become the basis for a business that our son can step into when he graduates with his accounting degree in two years.
That's the story in a very small nutshell. God has been great, we have suffered through many trials, and His goodness has toughened us up and taught us how to live by faith. An old persian proverb states, "He who suffers much, speaks many languages." How true.
If I can come share the story, and a few more details, to your church or group, I believe they will be inspired and encouraged. Call me if I can be of service. 251-626-3081.
