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 The young man with dyed and spiked hair, earrings and a tattoo settled onto the couch, tucked up a sandaled foot and began to talk. As the conversation continued, he admitted, “I don’t think I fit the stereotype of a pastor.”
The Rev. Kerry Bart began ministering as pastor of Spring City United Methodist Church on July 2. Previously he served for four years as an associate pastor at West Lawn United Methodist Church near Reading.
In addition to serving as youth pastor at West Lawn, Bart previously was youth director at Grandview United Methodist, Lancaster. He graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 2001 with a master of divinity.
Bart stressed that being a youth pastor is not necessarily a stepping stone toward becoming a solo pastor. Some people are called to be youth pastors, he noted. Rather, he described the move from youth pastor to having his “own church” as a step “in the direction God was calling me.”
Bart didn’t feel that call, however, when he first embarked on a career. He started out as a chemistry teacher at North Iowa Area Community College. However, he said, his faith was growing and he “wanted to be able to share my faith … and to have it received.”
He realized that the school setting was not the environment he wanted to be in. “I love science,” he admitted, “but I love God more.” God was opening doors, Bart said. “There was a door that said ‘ministry’ on it, and I went through it.”
The change in direction came after the death of Bart’s first wife at the age of 24 ½. A family friend, who had lost her husband to death five years before, wrote to Bart from the seminary where she worked, urging him not to miss his opportunity for entering the ministry.
Bart traveled east to visit Lancaster Theological Seminary and decided that in a few years he would enroll. He returned to his teaching job in Iowa, and as the year progressed, his anticipated timeline for entering seminary became shorter and shorter. Finally, he told his superiors that he wouldn’t be back in the fall, and the teacher became a student once again.
Bart was appointed to the Spring City congregation by the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes about 500 churches. Each year, the conference surveys all its pastors and churches to determine which pastors will go to new churches and which churches will get new pastors.
The denomination has no set rule on how long a pastor should serve a particular congregation. Some have remained for as little as one year, while other pastors serve their churches for 20 years.
“I envision being here 10 years or so,” Bart said of his new pastorate at Spring City. “I have a good feeling about the relationship between me and Spring City.”
Bart said his initial goal is to simply worship with the congregation and address any wounds they may have. Then, he said, he hopes to open all eyes to the possibilities of the Spring City church.
He noted that both the church and the community seem to be in decline, but both have tremendous potential. He and his congregation will need to find out “what direction God wants us to go.” He added that the church can only increase its membership by addressing the community’s needs first, and then people will become part of the fellowship.
“We have a Sunday school building that’s mostly unused,” Bart said. “The result of that dream is that building would be used. There would be happy kids in there and programs on weeknights.”
For many years, he said, Spring City United Methodist Church has been called the “lighthouse on the hill.” “I think that there’s this lighthouse on the hill. I envision this church being seen as God’s light, not because of who we are, but who God is,” the young pastor said.
Bart described himself as “a professional hoper.” He added, “I trust in the hope that reconciliation can happen between people and between families. The way things are isn’t necessarily the way they should be.”
Bart and his wife of 6 ½ years, Melissa, have a 3-year-old daughter, Sashi. Besides serving the church, one of his personal goals is to “be the best father and husband I can be. Watching a child in their young years,” he added, “every week is a new week.”
Reflecting on his goals, he mused, “Every now and then I think I ought to write a book, but I haven’t walked through that door yet.”
On a lighter note, he said he has two goals before he turns 40, which is six years away. He wants to run a marathon and to get a motorcycle.
Bart’s sermons can be found at www.LighthouseOnTheHill.blogspot.com.
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