Pastor Randy Bain
Randall
W. Bain
(Randy, Pastor, or Pastor _______)
Born: July 23, 1955
I grew up on a small farm
near the town of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I accepted Christ as my
Savior at age 18 while a freshman at Penn State University. I married my
high school sweetheart, Darlene George on July 6, 1974. We settled down
in the village of North Freedom in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania and
attended the North Freedom UM Church, our home church.
We
have two children and two grandchildren. Our daughter, Tonya, married
Scott Sager. They have a son, Gavin Scott and Addison Grace. Our son,
Ryan, married Nikki Pletcher. He works as a union carpenter.
Darlene and I served, at
one time or another, in almost every church office available at North
Freedom. Following a few years of extensive lay speaking, in the Fall of
1979, at a charge conference, I recognized God’s call to go into
fulltime Christian ministry. The following June, I began serving the
Albion Heights UM Church part-time while continuing to run a home
building and remodeling business. In 1983, three more churches were
added creating the Albion-Sandy Creek Charge, a student appointment.
After graduating from Clarion University in 1987, we moved to Wilmore,
Kentucky to attend Asbury Theological Seminary.
Following seminary
graduation in 1990, I was appointed to the Rockwood U. M. Charge
(Rockwood: Christ and Milford). During the fifteen years on the Rockwood
Charge, we completed three major building projects, oversaw numerous
renovation and maintenance works, and introduced several new ministries.
The Milford Church experienced a doubling of worship attendance from 85
in 1990 to 190 in 2004. I was appointed to Oakland UMC in Johnstown,
July 1, 2005. Since coming to Oakland, we have seen steady
increases in membership, attendance, outreach ministries, and children's
ministries.
My personal mission
statement is
to
leave a trail of servant leaders and churches who balance ministry in
evangelism, discipleship, and caring.
My talents and gifts for ministry are leadership, evangelist, and
exhortation. I lead by example in a servant style. I develop vision and
make decisions in a collaborative way that usually minimizes conflict. I
live out my evangelism gift with a testimonial style and gentle
persuasion. This is demonstrated in the church and community through
personal involvement and outreach programs. My gift of exhortation is
seen in a personable and Biblical preaching style. I also exercise
personal influence with good people and caring skills to provide a
steadying influence in individuals and congregations. I am a leader with
a burden for the lost, who leads others with a servant style into
ministries of outreach and growth. I promote stability, steady
growth and change for healthy church ministries (spiritually,
financially, and structurally).
I received a doctor of
ministry degree at Asbury Theological Seminary in December, 2006, but
seldom answer to the title, "Dr. Bain.". My dissertation project
entitled, “THE
IMPACT OF BUILDING A LEADERSHIP TEAM OF LAYPERSONS UPON THE ROCKWOOD
UNITED METHODIST CHARGE’S EMBRACING AND FULFILLING ITS CHARGE-WIDE
VISION STATEMENT,”
was implemented on the
Rockwood Charge in January 2004.
We see God’s hand at work
in and through us and the Oakland church family. We continue to serve
the Lord diligently in the power of the Holy Spirit in order to lead
God's children into ministry with a vision for a healthy balance of
evangelism, discipleship, and caring.
