Wayne and Carroll United Methodist Churches welcomed a new pastor early in September. Pastor Nick Baker is now leading both congregations and is excited to bring his personal preaching style to the church communities.
Baker, who is coming from serving the communities of Johnson and Brock in southeast Nebraska, is relatively new to being a full-time pastor, though he has plenty of experience serving a congregation.
"I've been doing ministry for about a year and a half, formally," Baker said. "I was very active in my home church, in Omaha. Over the course of its history, about 15 years or so, I've served a number of volunteer capacities, and when I started preaching there, on occasion, I talked to the pastor about doing something like that. He gave me a go and one time turned into two, which turned into three, and so on. I've seen behind the curtain of church ministry, both the actual ministry and evangelism aspect, but also the administrative aspect."
Baker has been in the Wayne and Carroll churches for less than a month, but said he's already enjoying both communities.
"We have a wide range of folks in the congregation. I think that brings a very special culture to the church. If the church was predominantly one demographic or one age range, that would be great, but when you've got this widespread, it's tremendous. I'm very excited about that," Baker said.
Prior to full-time ministry, Baker worked in higher education and said he's hoping to offer college students a church home while they're in the community.
"It's (the church) an opportunity for the college students to give them a place to not only feel welcome, but feel like they can continue to grow," Baker said. "I think a lot of folks think 18, 19, 20-year old college students are not interested in spiritual growth. That's not true. There are many who are and they're looking for a place to do it, so I'm excited about that."
Carroll United Methodist Church is having a banner September by not only welcoming Baker, but welcoming him into their new church building.
"It is just tremendous," Baker said. "It is decked out with technology, WiFi screens, we have the ability to play music over the speakers or we have an accompanist who plays with a piano. It's kind of the best of all worlds. I've been told that with the completion of the new building, we now have some members who are able to start attending again. I see a lot of happy faces on Sunday morning."
In his down time, Baker enjoys spending time with his family including his wife of 17 years and his six-year old daughter who has just started kindergarten. He is an avid runner and reader as well.
Baker said one of his focuses for his new congregations is making the two churches a place where members and non-members alike, feel welcome.
"One goal is just creating an atmosphere and environment where the current membership feels comfortable, like, 'hey, I belong here' and folks on the outside who haven't been to the church before, or maybe have been before, but it's been a while, find a place where they fit," Baker said.
Baker encourages anyone who is interested or would like to talk to contact him at either Wayne or Carroll's churches. Both community churches can also be found on Facebook or online at waynefirstumc.org or carrollumc.org respectively.
