Pastor Bill has been serving the congregation of The Old Bridge Baptist Church since April of 2005. Prior to coming to OBBC, he served at Hunt Baptist Church in Hunt, NY, a suburb of Rochester, from 1999-’05.
Pastor Bill’s approach to ministry can be summed up in the model of the New Testament church presented in The Book of Acts; studying God’s Word, devoting ourselves to prayer, evangelizing the lost, making disciples and ministering to one another. He emphasizes that this is not done by following “trendy ministry models” from popular books, but rather by being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and following it when we see it. Recently that has involved everything from a community “Fiesta and Chili Cook-off” to begin Vacation Bible School to instituting English as a Second Language courses at the church for our growing immigrant population.
Prior to entering full-time ministry, Pastor Bill had a variety of educational and employment experiences. He attended Grove City College in Pennsylvania as a business major, minoring in theology, from 1975-’78, where he met his future bride, Elizabeth (“Liz”) Gordon. After he and Liz were married in 1978, he worked as a restaurant manager and then as an office manager in the plumbing & heating business. In 1986 he enrolled at Lancaster Bible College, working as a dairy herdsman until graduating as valedictorian of his class with a BS in Bible in 1988. While in school, Pastor Bill also taught New Testament Greek grammar as a professor’s assistant.
After graduation he went on to law school, attending the Georgetown University Law Center, from which he graduated with his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1991, and was selected for the Order of the Coif. While at Georgetown, he taught Legal Research and Writing to first-year students as a Law Fellow. Recruited by several prestigious law firms, he worked as an associate at a major Pittsburgh, PA firm until coming to the realization that the Lord had a greater calling on his life and making the decision to enter full-time service.
Regarding his prior work experience, Pastor Bill says, “I don’t see my delay in entering full-time ministry as a mistake or a waste; rather, I believe my other education and jobs provided additional opportunities for the Lord to teach me and prepare me for the work to which I have been called…People appreciate a pastor who has walked a mile in their shoes and knows what secular employment and life beyond the doors of the church building are all about. I’ve done everything from milking cows to working on multi-million dollar legal cases. Now I’m ready to go wherever He leads and perform whatever service He requires of me.”
Pastor Bill credits his wife Liz as being an integral part of the ministry at OBBC; leading ladies’ ministries, teaching Sunday School, heading up Daily Vacation Bible School, teaching English as a Second Language and serving on committees. Pastor Bill and Liz have two grown children, Beth and Ben, both of who know the Lord as Savior and are pursuing successful careers. Beth is an attorney with a well-known firm in Cleveland, OH. Ben is a restaurant manager and sushi chef in Rochester, NY.
