New pastor EMBRACES LOCAL culture, landscape
Bill Emmerling, the new pastor at Gallup Christian Church, is a studious and educated newcomer to Gallup, arriving to the area just in time for Easter Services April 1.
“I was named the Most Studious in my high school graduating class,” he said. “I’ve made that a lifelong habit.”
The oldest of four children raised by his father, a mechanical engineer, and his stay-at-home mom, the family moved from his birthplace in Canton, Ohio to other locations in the Midwest as the stamping and forging industry created openings, and closings, throughout the factory-driven area.
His own job experience includes a college job as the assistant program director at church camps and as a house parent for troubled youth with his wife, Sharri.
He has also been a factory floor worker and has four years experience as a high school teacher in Physical Science, Computers, and Math after receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics from Murray State University in KY, where he doubled as a fencing instructor.
Emmerling was also a fuel transport driver and a technology consultant. And as more and more men do in these modern times, he has spent some time as a household steward and domestic educator, and had worked as a bi-vocational lay pastor before being called to the full-time ministry here in Gallup. He received his Masters of Theology from the Lincoln Christian Seminary.
Why Gallup, the reader might ask? It’s a simple question with a compound answer:
“Geography, I have always longed to live in the higher altitudes, not necessarily the mountains, and I am intrigued by the terrain and the cultural heritage around Gallup,” he said.
He’s also impressed with the the cultural diversity and the strengths derived from that diversity, as evident in the many murals on local buildings, and the community emphasis on the varied artwork produced in the community at large.
“And last but not least, I am impressed with how clean Gallup is in spite of its perceived poverty and harshness,” he said. “My most recent experience with a city that was also going through that cycle lacked the civic pride I’ve seen here in just the short period we’ve been here.”
The life verses of the Bible that Pastor Emmerling follows are from Proverbs 3: 5 - 8 (ESV) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
“It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Gallup Christian Church is an Independent Non-Denominational Protestant Church which has no central authority except the Bible, and its own local by-laws and beliefs.
It has been an ongoing conservative religious program in the Gallup area since about 1950. Located at 501 South Cliff in Gallup, the church welcomes worshipers of all ethnic backgrounds that are seeking other believers in the Word of God, and desire to meet with them for learning and spreading the word throughout Gallup.
By Tom Hartsock
For the Sun
