Loretta Mayo shares her journey with husband David Mayo, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Marietta.

“I felt that calling (to the ministry) also. I felt that calling as a support. I felt like I was going to be marrying someone in the ministry. Maybe it was God put it in my heart and it was a willingness,” Loretta Mayo said.

Mayo met her husband on a blind date at an Atlanta Braves game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Their best friends, who were engaged to each other, arranged the meeting.

“We went on that date and never thought we’d see each other again,” Mayo said.

While in college, David looked into seminary in Pittsburgh, Penn., close to her western Pennsylvania home.

“We wrote back and forth a little bit and I told him I was going to Virginia Beach (where he lived) with some girlfriends so we saw each other then. He was home that summer,” she said.

After David started seminary that fall, both were in the wedding of their best friends who previously introduced them.

“David had already started seminary. It was not me. It was a God thing,” said Mayo, explaining they started dating “right away.”

In October 2012, the Mayos came to FPC of Marietta from Greenwood, S.C. Because relationships are one of the things Mayo values most, one of the greatest challenges of the ministry is leaving friends.

“It’s not that you don’t keep those friends but you’re not with them every day, spending time with them. It’s falling in love with people in your congregation and then leaving them that is hard,” she said.

“We have been extremely blessed in every church we have been in with wonderful people and getting to know people and having relationships with great folks,” Mayo said.

Mayo acts a confidant for her husband.

“We view our roles as a shared ministry. We are best friends so that gives us a base together,” she said.

They have been married 30 years and have two grown daughters, Becky and Lindsay. The couple enjoys family time, traveling and golfing. Since moving to Marietta, they discovered the beauty of Kennesaw Mountain.

“I am still praying about what my ministry will be in this church. My ministry changes, and God is still evolving that now. It’s always still the support for (David),” she said.

When asked what she admires about her husband, Mayo said, “I love his integrity. The things he preaches from the pulpit, he lives out. He is the same person. He truly lives them and loves the Lord. He has a wonderful gift for preaching that God has given him and he uses it.

“David has been good to make the family a priority,” Mayo said.