Leadership

About Our Pastor

Pastor Nathan’s heart for ministry has been shaped by a lifelong love for God’s Word and a genuine care for people. He holds degrees from the University of Rio Grande and Kent State University, but his ministry journey began long before formal titles or positions.

While still in college, Nathan first stepped into ministry at Gallia County’s Salem Baptist Church—his home church—where he began teaching an adult Bible study. Those early years laid a foundation for careful study of Scripture and a desire to help others understand God’s Word clearly and faithfully.

His first career ministry role took him to the Rescue Mission in Youngstown, Ohio, where he served among men facing homelessness, addiction, and deep life hardship. There, Nathan ministered through teaching, discipleship, and daily gospel presence, learning firsthand the importance of compassion, patience, and the transforming power of Christ in broken circumstances.

After moving to Dayton with his wife, Nathan joined North Dayton Baptist Church as Worship Pastor. Less than a year later, he was called to serve as Lead Pastor following the retirement of the previous pastor. During his time there, he shepherded the church through some of the most challenging seasons in its history, including the 2019 Dayton tornadoes—which directly damaged the church building, damaging the roof and taking down the steeple—the tragic Oregon District shooting just two miles away, and the prolonged challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, after more than five years at NDBC, Nathan transitioned to serve as Worship Pastor at Washington Heights Baptist Church, an OARBC sister church of Faith Baptist. It was through his service there that the Lord reconnected his heart to Faith Baptist Church and opened the door for him to return home as pastor in the spring of 2025.

Nathan and his wife, Lauren, were high school sweethearts and were married in 2013. They are grateful for the family God has given them. Their daughter, Lydia, was born in 2018, followed by their son James in 2023—whose arrival came unexpectedly in a hospital parking garage, with Nathan delivering him himself. Their youngest son, Ezra, was born in 2024 and has been a joyful addition to their family.