Atlanta First Baptist welcomes new pastor
The church was full this past Sunday. Seats were in the aisles.
After 22 months of searching, First Baptist of Atlanta was considering calling a new pastor.
A vote by the called church conference was to be taken.
The mood was light-hearted, and after the vote was taken, the Rev. Wesley Mills and his family accepted the leadership position upon a 490-1 affirmative vote.
The senior pastor position had been created upon the retirement of the Rev. Joe Srygley and his family, who had ministered here 35 years.
When the vote of the church conference, which is composed of all members of the church, was announced by Dr. James Stanley, the choir broke out into the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.”
And everyone smiled. And all seemed relieved too.
Cass County’s largest congregation now had a leader again. Everyone was invited to the covered dish luncheon that followed, which, too, had been prepared in view of the likelihood that the church would accept the new family.
Mills and his wife, Jenny, have two children, Aubri, 4, and Shepherd, 4 months. They expressed their excitement in coming.
Wesley holds a Bachelor of Science in financial management from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Divinity in biblical languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He currently is a doctoral candidate in expository preaching with a minor in systematics theology. He anticipates graduation this December.
Over the past seven years, he has served in several pastoring and preaching opportunities that have equipped him to be a senior pastor, the announcing bulletin stated.