Prior to taking on this church in November of 2022, Pastor Steve and his wife Elizabeth along with their family had prayed about the ministry for nearly 25 years. When they first prayed about ministry, they felt very strongly about the mission field and Steve took a missions trip to Micronesia in the spring of 2010 while Elizabeth was pregnant with David. After much prayer and not feeling full peace about a specific place, they were given council by a veteran missionary who suggested that they may have to surrender to stay. The idea of pastoring a church came into Steve’s mind in 2012, which was meditated on but wasn’t given serious thought at the time (Luke 2:19).

Steve started his own business in 2016 in the field of home automation after having worked in the industry for other companies since December of 2000. For a few years prior to coming to Heritage, Steve felt more strongly about pastoring a church and definitely had the desire but prayed for confirmation from the Lord. Then in 2021, Steve decided to talk to his pastor at the time to share his burden and ask him for prayer. Within 2 weeks of that meeting, a pastor from another local church asked our pastor if any men in the church would be willing to fill the pulpit in his church while he was taking off some time to deal with certain health issues. That pastor also asked our pastor if he knew of anyone who was looking to get into the ministry. Steve filled the pulpit there and although the Lord didn’t open a door at that church, it planted the seed and solidified a calling in his life.

Then in the early summer of 2022, an opportunity presented itself at Heritage Baptist Church. Unbeknownst to Steve, this church had been without a pastor since November of 2020. He began periodically filling in on July 10 among other preachers and expressed his interest in candidating there. Steve and Elizabeth met with the pulpit committee of the church and was nominated unanimously by them to be presented as a candidate to the church in the first week of November. After 2 weeks of preaching and allowing the congregation to ask their own questions on the first week, Steve was unanimously voted in as pastor on November 13, 2022.

Steve and Elizabeth graduated and received degrees from their church’s Bible Institute, which was a 5 year course in 2002. They have always been active in various roles in the churches they have attended such as being children’s Sunday school teachers from 3 years old up to college age, Steve has also served as youth pastor and deacon, has preached in a boy’s and girl’s home, the Detroit Rescue Mission, Dickerson County Jail and various nursing home ministries and has done street preaching in multiple communities all while Elizabeth stayed at his side (quite literally many times) and has been a valuable asset to assist him in ministry throughout the years. They are truly excited for the opportunity to serve in this new capacity and to see what the Lord has in store for the community of Fenton and especially for the local body of believers at Heritage Baptist Church.