Ministry Experience: Stearns First Baptist: Senior Pastor February 2008 June 2014 PO Box 57 Stearns, KY 42647 Goshen Baptist Church: Pastor January 2004- February 2008 Old Rail Road Road Glen Dean, KY, 40104 Cold Spring Baptist: Minister of Youth April 2002 June 2003 7997 Battletown Road Battletown, KY 40104 Gateway Church SBC: English as a Second Language Instructor September 2000 May 2001 PO Box 22 Mansfield, TX 76063 International Mission Board of the SBC: Missionary Journeyman January 1998 November 1999 Primary assignment: teach English as a Second Language in various churches in Belarus Secondary assignment: Student worker 3806 Monument Ave. PO Box 6767 Richmond, VA 23230-0767
Education: Graduate Level: Undergraduate Level: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary M.A. Missiology, 2012 2825 Lexington Road Louisville, KY 40280 (502) 897-4011 Lander University B.S. History, 1997 320 Stanley Ave. Greenwood, SC 29649 Special Experiences: State Denominational Work: Member of the Kentucky Baptist Mission Board December 2010 November 2013 Assigned to serve on the Missions Growth Committee as well as the Multiethnic Missions and Ministry Department sub-committee Associational Work: Moderator for the McCreary County Association of Baptists Chairman of the New River/McCreary Baptist Association Nominating Committee Missions: Zhitomir Ukraine Orphan ministry and Youth Evangelism: November 1995 November 1996 January 2006 Zhitomir Ukraine Dental Missions and Evangelism: November 1997 November 1998 The January 2006 Mission trip to Ukraine was especially wonderful because I was able to take my wife as well as three members of Goshen Baptist.
Points of Interest: Stearns First Baptist: Goshen Baptist Church: Cold Spring Baptist: Gateway Church: IMB: Family: -Began a church outreach ministry (GROW) which has resulted in the return of some missing members to our congregation -Instituted a new believer s class for new converts -Helped develop guidelines for children and youth ministry -Helped lead a project to locate missing members from Stearns FBC -Led church youth on a mission trip to Ukraine -Helped begin a Men s ministry -Began a discipleship ministry -Instituted a time of dedicated prayer for the lost -Began a youth ministry from neighborhood outreach -Saw several unchurched youth come to faith in Christ -Preached when the pastor was away -Taught English as a Second Language as a part of outreach -Filled in for the pastor on occasion -Began ESL ministry in a village without an Evangelical church presence -Developed ongoing ESL ministries in two large Baptist Churches -Preached in various Belarusian churches -Discipled a group of new Christians I have been married to my wife, Lisa, since July 21, 2001. We met while we were both studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Lisa is a very important part of my ministry. She has been active in Children and Youth ministries during and before our marriage. She has served as an intern with the Kentucky WMU and she serves in the WMU at Stearns FBC. Lisa and I have one child, Elane Marie Wightman. Elane is a student in the first grade currently and enjoys taking part in church activities with her parents.
Proclamation: The basis of all of my sermons is the Bible. I strongly believe that all scripture is inspired and profitable. In my preaching I utilize personal illustrations while upholding the truth of scripture first and foremost. I also try to preach the Gospel daily, by the life I lead. This means that I must constantly ask, What would Jesus have me to do? I believe that this carries over into how I deal with people in the church, as well as those who have not come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I believe that people are more likely to be drawn to Christ when they see that I live what I preach. I also realize that conflicts will arise in the church. I consider myself to be a calm person who can work well in crisis situations. I believe that every conflict and problem in the church must first be met with prayer. Then I believe that God will guide His followers to a proper resolution which will honor Him. Philosophy on Working in the church: I view myself as a hands on leader. I believe that it is the role of the pastor to lead the church in ministering to the community. That does not mean that the pastor is the only one ministering to the community, but that the pastor is constantly demonstrating to the church how to minister and how to reach those in need of our Savior. I desire to lead people to be obedient to Christ. Calling and Testimony: I became a follower of Jesus Christ when I was seven years old. Not long after that I experienced God calling me into ministry. However, I did not understand this calling and I never discussed it until I made the decision public in November 1995. I was never running from the call to ministry, I simply did not understand how God could use me. I announced my desire to serve God full time on my first mission trip in Ukraine. Since then I have served as an international missionary, a youth minister and now as a pastor. I desire to continue to serve God in the church through preaching, teaching, missions involvement and church outreach. The desire of my heart is to see people saved and then become committed followers of Jesus.
References Dr. Darrell Rooks President of The Master s Mission 10 E. Summit Drive Ware Shoals, SC 29692 (864) 377-0643 Dr. Karl Babb Mailing Address: P.O. Box 43433 Louisville, KY 40253-0433 Karl.Babb@kybaptist.org (502) 489-3381 Eddie Burdette 227 S. Elm Street Pendleton, SC 29670 (864) 617-8245 Eddie Brown PO Box 57 Whitley City, KY 42653 (606) 376-5782 Dick and Patti Owen PO Box 53 McQuady, KY 40153 (270) 257-2750 Jeremy Colloms Senior Pastor of Mt. Bethel Baptist Church 2603 Due West Highway Belton, SC 29627 (864) 934-4881 Ralph and Becky Blevins PO Box 1165 Pine Knot, KY 42635 (606) 521-7878 Dmitri and Elena Kostyunin 11441 Lake Drive Leesburg, FL 34788 (352) 272-1680