He was ordained into ministry by Rock Spring Baptist Church of Grays, South Carolina in 1971. His first pastorate was at the Brick Baptist Church in Frogmore, South Carolina where he served for 5 1/2 years and later became the Pastor of Meadow Prong Baptist Church in Effingham, South Carolina, where he served 5 ½ years. In 1982, he was called to pastor the Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church.
Pastor Newton was employed at Morris College as the Coordinator of Student Activities, Acting Dean of Student Affairs and his last appointment as Alumni and Church Relations Officer. After 20 years of bi-vocational service, he left his position at Morris College and engaged full time ministry at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church (JMBC) in 1996. In 1997, Morris College, his alma mater, conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in recognition of his meritorious Christian service and inspiring leadership.
Under his leadership, JMBC has experienced exponential growth in membership and in financial support. God gave Pastor Newton a 3-Phase vision for the growth and development of the JMBC family and the Sumter community. Phase One, which included renovations and additions to the facility, is complete. Phase Two, which included the erection of a new home for the Jehovah Child Development Center, (now known as the Jehovah Christian and Academic School) which was housed in the church, is complete and the Family Life Center, (The MH Newton Family Life Center), which was named in his honor because of his leadership, dedication, and hard work, is complete. The mortgages on both phases have been burned in honor of their completion. Phase Three, a new facility for spiritual education and worship, is in progress at the time of this writing.
In 2011, Jehovah celebrated it's Centennial Anniversary, 100 years of ministry and service to God and His people. Pastor Newton was instrumental in honoring members who had been at JMBC for 50 years by conducting interviews and giving souvenirs to them. It was a grand CELEBRATION!
Pastor Newton has been a community advocate for many years. He is a lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP); former member of the Board of Trustees for Morris College; former member of VIP (Sumter County's Vision-in-Progress); former member of the Sumter County Capital Projects Sales Tax Act Commission; currently serving as a Trustee on the Central Carolina Technical College Foundation Board, Board Member of Sumter Education Foundation; a Member of the founding Board of Directors for the Liberty Steam Charter School; and co-chair of the Sumter City Empowerment Zone Board.
His religious affiliation include, but are not limited to; member of the Sumter County Concerned Clergy, Moderator Emeritus for the Sumter Baptist Missionary and Educational Association, the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., and Sumter Leaders of Faith.
Pastor Newton was inducted into the Black Hall of Fame of South Carolina in June 2007. In 2021, he celebrated 50 years in ministry and 39 years as the Pastor of Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. In addition, he was honored with the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in the State of South Carolina.
Pastor Newton is noted throughout the state of South Carolina and across the nation as a Revivalist Extraordinaire. His messages are powerfully penetrating and brilliantly challenging. Yet he is humble and Christ-like in all of his ways.
Pastor Newton is a family man. He was married to the late Corine Shaw Newton for more than 60 years, and they are the parents of two daughters: Vanessa and Maria; proud grandparents of three grandchildren: Steven, Jelissa, and Sterling; and extremely proud great grandparents to Ace and Kross.
