Dobson to take helm of First Baptist Church
Diane and Marc Dobson. (Photo provided)
The congregation of the First Baptist Church will have a new lead pastor soon, and he’s a familiar face.
Longtime youth Pastor Marc Dobson will take the helm of the church later this month when he’s formally installed May 21.
Dobson has been the youth pastor at the church for 21 years.
He said he hopes to bring the youth and seniors together in his leadership role.
“I really feel like I can connect the younger generation and the older generation,” he said last week.
“Seniors are teenagers with wrinkles.”
He said he still has a zest for life and ministry and spreading the word of God.
“The youth rubs off on seniors and the senior experience rubs off on the youth,” he said.
Dobson has an undergraduate degree and master’s in arts from Northland Baptist College of Wisconsin. He’s originally from Colorado.
Dobson and his wife, Diane have three grown children, Kaitlyn, 26, Naomi 25 and Jason, 21.
A biblical scholar, he said his favorite book of the Bible is often the one he’s currently reading.
But he has a soft spot for Philippians — as he once took up the challenge to memorize an entire book of the Bible. Philippians is relatively short, he noted, with just 108 verses.
Lately he’s also been delving into the Book of Psalms, he said.
But he also likes to point out the lessons of Isaiah, Chapter 6, which notes that people need to get a bigger picture of God, by looking not only up, but out at the rest of the world.
Dobson said he would also like to reach out to the younger generation — the folks in their 20s and 30s who may have gone to church in their teens, but he would like to see return to the church.
“I’ve got a real burden to reach out to the younger generation,” he said.
He noted that after Covid, people need to take care of not only their physical and mental health, but their spiritual health.
The church has some events coming up. There’s a mother-daughter tea at 2 p.m. May 13 and vacation Bible School June 12-16 from 9 to noon for ages 5 through sixth grade.
All mothers and daughters are welcome to the tea, he noted. They do not need to be members.