CLARKSBURG, W.Va.—Emmanuel Baptist Church installed Jayson Byrd as pastor. Former pastors Bruce McBride, Joe Riggs, Richard Phelps, and Tim Amundson (state representative of the Freedom Fellowship of Regular Baptist Churches) participated in the installation service Oct. 19.
Jayson was previously pastor of Gospel Life Baptist Church, a revitalization/replant work in rural Keyser, W.Va. Gospel Life is now a healthy church, and Jayson and his wife, Jamie, followed God’s leading to Clarksburg, Jayson’s hometown.
“I, like the trend of many of Appalachia’s youth, left as soon as age and opportunity afforded the chance,” Jayson says. “In many ways, I am accepting this call of God similarly to the reluctant prophet Jonah. We often have a cognitive dissonance when it comes to our local missiology. I know I have at least. We apply principles of contextualization to cross-cultural missions but neglect those same principles at home. When speaking of missions, we are quick to point out the need for indigenous church leadership and the training of said leaders; however, when it comes to the various regions in the U.S., we overlook such thinking. It makes good sense and is good stewardship for pastors to first consider serving where they are indigenous to.”
The need for ministry is great in this area, Jayson says. “Nearly 70,000 people in Harrison County and only around 30,000 claim any religious affiliation. Of those, only about 13 percent (4,000ish) identify with an Evangelical church.” Emmanuel Baptist Church is located in one of the fastest growing areas in the state and is “geographically centered to be a strategic influence on the entire region of North Central West Virginia.”
The decision to take on a new pastorate was difficult for his family, Jayson says. But “each of us is a tool in the Master’s use; we want Him to be able to use us in the most effective project for His glory.”
