The Cummings name is not the rarest but certainly isn’t the most common name either. There is a 1 in 50,647 chance that you share the Cummings name. So to come across two Cummings with the same first name, born in the same year, and now live in the same community must be fairly rare.
Meet Steve Cummings and Steve Cummings. One of the Steve’s grew up right here in Cullman, AL, while the other Steve grew up a county over in Walker County, AL. The two have known about each other for some time now but just recently were able to meet face to face.
Steve Cummings that many here in Cullman know and love grew up with a mother and father that owned a local sporting goods business. Charlotte and Robin Cummings gave birth to Steve in September of 1964. He would grow up in the sporting goods store and eventually take over managing the store where Cullman area athletes and coaches loved to hang out. Some people would know Steve from his marketing & graphic design work and being the former Chairman of the Cullman County Republican Party or from his highly popular wife, Debby, who retired from teaching at West Elementary. Steve and his family have grown in popularity over the years with their humble hearts and community involvement. Back in the ’90s, Steve knew there was another man close by that shared his name and had always wanted to meet him, but the timing never happened. The two would take phone calls for each other. Obviously, the wrong Steve was answering the phone, but they had no idea how to direct the person on the other end of the line to the other Steve other than Pastor Steve knew he could send people to Cummings Sporting Goods.
Now, allow me to introduce you to Steve Cummings that grew up in the small town of Sumiton, in Walker County. Steve was born to Fred and Mary Cummings, you guessed it, in February of 1964. When Steve was six years old, he was hit by a vehicle and pronounced dead by a paramedic (God had bigger plans). After that moment, Steve was revived, and his mother told him he would grow up to be a pastor. Steve felt the calling to be a preacher after graduating college. He graduated from Dora High School, where his fame came by being the only high school Catcher to throw out Bo Jackson while attempting to steal a base. He attended Brewer State – Fayette Junior College on a baseball scholarship before going on to play golf at the University of North Alabama, where he obtained a degree in Physical Education. Finally, Steve felt the calling to be a preacher and enrolled into International Bible College in Florence, Alabama, where he graduated in 1990 with a Bible degree. Steve started preaching at a small church in Eva, AL, in the early ’90s and often visited Cullman. He loved Cullman and knew this is where he wanted to reside eventually. He moved on to Albertville and preached for seven years before moving to Nashville, TN. Steve, his wife Deidra, and his four children lived in Nashville for eighteen years while he was preaching at Tusculum Church of Christ. Shortly before Easter of 2021, Cullman Church of Christ gave Steve a call for the third time as a preacher. The first time the church called, he wanted to come because he loved Cullman, but his wife was working for Lipscomb University, and it would have been impossible for them to make a move. The second time was essentially the issue, but the family also had four children that needed to finish college at Lipscomb. The timing wasn’t right, but God had bigger plans for the future. The third phone call came during the middle of a global pandemic, and his wife was now working remotely for the same university, and all four children had graduated college. After many prayers, Steve and Deidra knew this was the calling that God wanted for them. The timing was perfect, and now that Deidra could work from home, all the stars were aligned for them to make a move to his favorite little town of Cullman. Steve preached his first sermon on Easter Sunday of 2021 at Cullman Church of Christ, and the rest is history in the making.
The original Cullman Steve heard about Cullman Church of Christ hiring his namesake and knew this was the time to meet. So he reached out and made contact with Pastor Steve, and they set up a time to meet for lunch. The two met at Rumors Deli and talked for over an hour. They had a lot in common such as, both were Conservative Christians, both have a significant sports background, both had the exact same hairstyle (bald with a bit of hair around the side), both were born the same year, and obviously both shared the same name. Steve and Steve have become friends over the last couple of months and look forward to continuing that friendship for many years to come. If Cullman is big enough for two Wal-Mart’s, it is certainly big enough for two Steve Cummings.
