CYNTHIA GARCIA
With his family — including his wife Stephanie, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren — at his side, Alton Davis was presented the Lew and Sandy Shaffer Award during the Azle Area Ministerial Alliance’s annual Follow the Flag program July 4, honoring his years of service to the community.
Since 2012, the AAMA has presented the Lew and Sandy Shaffer Award at Follow the Flag to an individual or couple whose long-term commitment to Jesus Christ and serving others has made a lasting difference in the Azle area. Lew Shaffer received the inaugural award in 2012.
The award was originally created by the AAMA to honor Lew Shaffer for his vision in establishing Follow the Flag and for his decades of ministry in the community. In 2018, a few days before he died, the award was renamed the Lew and Sandy Shaffer Award to recognize his devoted wife Sandy’s faithful ministry alongside him and the impact they made as cofounders of Son Shine Ministries.
The selection committee is not the AAMA board. Rather, it is a committee made up of former award recipients.
For Davis, receiving the award was a meaningful moment because of the legacy Lew and Sandy Shaffer left through their dedication to the people of Azle.
“The Lew and Sandy Shaffer Award is such a huge honor because it recognizes those that truly have a heart to serve the Lord. And Lew and Sandy Shaffer — I can't think of two people that exemplified the love of God any more than them. They just loved the Lord,” Davis told The Azle News.
Davis said Lew Shaffer’s example of faith and love was something that he admired greatly.
“When you think of Lew Shaffer you think of love. I mean, he was afflicted in his body, and really couldn’t even speak. But man, when he came into the room, or whenever you encountered him, you just felt the presence of the Lord. If I can have any percentage of that, then it truly is humbling to me,” Davis said.
Davis was born in Wichita Falls and grew up in Graham before eventually making his way to Azle. He moved to the community after his sweetheart Stephanie’s family relocated to Azle, and the couple became engaged shortly afterward. In 1987, he began what would become a 25-year career with Ranch Style Beans. He and Stephanie married the following year.
“Coming out of a small town, that was my first exposure to being around a diverse group of people. I had to overcome some biases in my own life, and the Lord matured me. Walking with the Lord, I just began to understand that the Lord is a God of love. So, to follow him I must exemplify that same love,” Davis said.
During his time at Ranch Style Beans, he worked his way to the role of plant manager. He never stayed in one position with the company for more than two years.
Davis said he viewed each promotion during his career at Ranch Style Beans as another opportunity God placed before him.
The lessons he learned during his career shaped how he viewed leadership and serving others.
“Jesus came to serve, not to be served. As we model our life after him, we have to take on that servant's heart,” he said.
His management career taught him that effective leadership comes from supporting the people around him.
“One of the things that I learned in my management career (is) that truly being an effective leader is not about bossing people around, but it's about getting to know them and helping them be successful. Because as people are successful around you, if you make them successful, then you're going to share in that success,” Davis said.
He began attending Community Bible Fellowship Church with his wife in 1999. Davis said the church felt like the perfect fit for his family. He recalled feeling loved from the moment they walked through the doors and how quickly it became their church home.
His senior pastor at the church, Fred Weaver, had a major impact on his life. As the church began to grow, Weaver gave Davis more responsibilities, and he started teaching a young adult Sunday school class. After Weaver suffered a stroke around 2008, Davis began preaching at the church — an opportunity he said led to additional doors opening for ministry.
While preaching, Davis continued working in the food and beverage manufacturing industry until 2019, when he left to enter full-time ministry.
“As we follow Him, the Lord just opens up doors for us. I never envisioned I would take the path of becoming a minister but as I followed the Lord, I knew that he was going to continue to bring me deeper and deeper into ministry,” he said.
The same year, he was introduced to the Azle Area Ministerial Alliance through Weaver and his father-in-law Bob Terrell, who were both involved with the organization.
“As I began to seek the Lord, the Lord showed me that we need to be strongly involved in the community and walk arm in arm with the local church,” he said.
Davis reached out to a friend, Tim Stevens, who was lead pastor at Azle First Assembly and AAMA president at the time and asked when the next meeting was. He joined the AAMA in 2019 and was soon invited to be a part of the board of directors. After Stevens, longtime pastor and police chaplain Glyn Murphy became the AAMA president. In 2022, Davis was nominated to serve as president, a position he has held since then.
Although he felt called to ministry, Davis said he never imagined where the path would lead.
“I just didn't know exactly the fullness of that, and certainly never envisioned myself being a full-time church pastor, much less the president of the Azle Area Ministerial Alliance and working so arm in arm with other leaders in our community,” he said.
Since becoming involved with the AAMA, he has valued the opportunity to bring local churches together through community events.
“I'm very proud of the fact that all our events have experienced growth over the years. National Day of Prayer is really a reflection of our community, and the growth of that event has been outstanding,” Davis said.
He added how uplifting it has been to see local churches come together for events like National Day of Prayer, Follow the Flag and the Azle Lake Run.
Davis credits Terrell for shaping his commitment to serving others.
“He was a man who came into my life at the perfect time, and really just began to exemplify and model the love of Christ and the love of the Father to me,” he said.
Son Shine Ministries Director David Shaffer — one of Lew and Sandy Shaffer’s three sons — presented the Lew and Sandy Shaffer Award to Davis and said Davis’ commitment to serving others reflects the purpose behind the recognition.
“Alton has always been willing to invest in people, and God has used that throughout our community. He has helped unite pastors and ministry leaders in the Azle Area Ministerial Alliance, collaborated with community leaders on initiatives such as Let's Talk Azle, served on local boards and raised money for worthwhile causes,” David Shaffer said. “At the same time, much of his most meaningful ministry has happened one person at a time through conversations, encouragement, prayer and simply making himself available to people in need.”
Shaffer said Davis’ service extends beyond the leadership positions he has held and is rooted in faith.
“When I think of Alton, I don’t first think about the leadership positions he has held or the recognition he has received. I think about his love for Jesus. Everything else seems to flow from that. It reminded me why Alton was a fitting choice for this award,” he said.
