Pastor Mustin’s Story – “Studying while preaching”

Pastor Mustin is currently pursuing a MDiv degree at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with the goal of completing the degree within the next couple years. Several years ago, the Mustins were members of a new church plant when they felt the call to lead or plant a new church of their own. Gaylord decided to pursue a theological degree at MBTS. While studying, he wanted to do interim or pulpit supply preaching in nearby churches which is how he got connected with First Baptist Church in Lamoni (FBC Lamoni).

Cliff Chapman, Senior Deacon at FBC Lamoni invited Gaylord to preach on Father’s Day of 2019. Gaylord said, “It must have been okay because they asked me to come back. I preached again and they asked me to come back again. This went on for many months until they eventually asked me to be pastor. I am still working on my degree so we agreed to take the slow approach and really get to know each other until we decide on the next steps.”

Finally, in a congregation meeting on February 19th, the vote was made to call Gaylord as pastor. Gaylord accepted the call and the installation was initially scheduled for April though it was postponed by several months due to COVID meeting restrictions. In the intervening months, Gaylord continued to meet with the church on Zoom. “I wanted to keep everyone encouraged and keep everyone meeting together.” Gaylord and Rosalind continue commuting to Lamoni from Kansas City on the weekends and hosting virtual Bible studies midweek. In addition to Gaylord’s ongoing studies at MBTS, they are responsible for the care of both of their mothers.

Installation – “Your pastor is a gift from God”

Pastor Mustin was officially installed on Sunday, July 12th. During the installation service, BCI Church & Support Staff, Chris McRae reminded the church family that Pastor Mustin come to FBC Lamoni as a gift from God. “God formed Pastor Mustin with the gifts, passions, and life experiences that will be exactly what is needed in this time. Receive him with joyful gratitude and cherish him as you would a good gift.” The charge to Pastor Mustin was, “to preach boldly the truth of God’s Word with cheerful courage.” And to the church family as a whole, Chris issued a challenge from Acts 2:46 to have joyful and sincere hearts, to encourage each other and reach out in their community.

Vision – “Navigating the move forward”

Pastor Mustin wants to leverage the welcoming character of the church to expand gospel fruit in FBC Lamoni. “From the first time we arrived at the church, they welcomed us very warmly. It was clear that they were a very friendly, open, and genuine family of believers. They have long-standing tradition so our opportunity and challenge will be navigating how to move forward while honoring that tradition.”

There are many opportunities for ministry in the Lamoni Community. Graceland University has a college campus right down the street from the church. On the top of the list of outreach opportunities are engaging with the college and engaging the residents of the community. Pastor Mustin is praying that they will be able to increase ministry traction in the fall when school will hopefully resume. “Our first priority is trying to establish how our community relates to faith, especially the younger families in our community. We still have a lot more research to do on our town.”

When thinking about his vision for the church, Pastor Mustin said, “My question to the church has been, how can we present the gospel in a manner that will attract future generations in the Lamoni community? That’s our goal. We have to figure that out.” Pastor Mustin plans to do that through preaching the foundational truths of the gospel, presenting a new and fresh worship music style (thankfully Rosalind is a gifted singer and has been leading worship during services), and adapting the church’s ministry to meet the future needs of the Lamoni community.