Pastor Stephen and his wife Alisa have four grown children and have been members at Community Southern Baptist Church since 1990. In describing his call to ministry, Pastor Stephen said, “I received the call to preach the gospel in 1995 and was licensed by Pastor Ted Keys that November. I have been under his leadership since becoming a member of the church.” 

Many Ministry Roles Through the Years

Shortly after being called into ministry in 1995, Pastor Stephen began to serve in various pastoral roles. He served as Interim Pastor at Calmar Bible Fellowship, in Calmar, Iowa between 2000 and 2003. After that, Pastor Stephen helped start a new church called Cathedral of Faith before returning to Community Southern to assist Pastor Keys. Pastor Stephen took another Interim Pastor role at Shiloh Southern Baptist Church. After a full-time pastor was called, he again returned to Community Southern and became the Assistant Pastor until Pastor Keys’ retirement in February, 2022. In addition to his pastoral experience, Pastor Stephen has worked as a Trainer and Manager specializing in conflict resolution at Tyson Foods for almost 29 years, experience which he thinks has been useful in his ministry as well.

Coming Together to Be Sent Out

Pastor Stephen’s desire for his ministry at Community Southern is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4). “Pastor Keys started essential work that I want to continue: educating our people with the Great Commission, so that we can send them out into the mission field,” Pastor Stephen said. “As I start my new pastoral ministry here, the first step for us is to bring everyone back together. Through the pandemic, everyone was scattered. We need to unify the church again so that we can help people get where God wants them to be, back on mission with Him.”

“I love Community Southern Baptist Church and it is an honor and a privilege to serve as their Pastor,” said Pastor Stephen. “This church has been an instrumental part of my spiritual growth as a preacher and pastor. My prayer is that God will provide me with the wisdom to lead His people into a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ and serve in His kingdom.”