At Temple Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Ohio, John Gowdy retired after serving there for 45 years, and Kevin Hay has been called as pastor.
John grew up attending Temple Baptist Church, which has existed since 1850. He was initially the youth and visitation pastor and then served as pastor for the next 42 years.
The congregation installed Kevin Hay as its pastor March 1. He has been serving in pastoral ministry since 2009, both as a church planter and pastor.
Holding a DMin in expository preaching from The Master’s Seminary, Kevin is also professor of Christian ministry and director of the DMin program in expository preaching at Forge Theological Seminary.
For Kevin and his wife, Alicia, “this moment carries a deep sense of the Lord’s kind providence and a culminating chapter in an epic journey,” Kevin says. “In His sovereign goodness and wisdom, the Lord has graciously led us back to our hometown, and we are humbled by the opportunity to serve Christ and His people in the very community that shaped so much of our lives. . . . It is a privilege beyond words to pastor a people in my own hometown.”
Kevin expresses gratitude and appreciation for John Gowdy, saying, “Pastor John’s love for Christ and his humility throughout this pastoral transition have been a tremendous testimony. On the Sunday of my installation, he preached his final sermon to the congregation he faithfully shepherded for over four decades titled, ‘The Everlasting Gospel.’ Watching him finish well after so many years of pastoral faithfulness was both humbling and inspiring.”
