Preston Sanders
Our Pastor here at Strasburg for 10 years, Preston is pictured above with his wife Brenda, daughter Danielle and her husband Derek.
Family Information
I meet my wife to be in the spring of 1977 and we were married on February 11,1978. Our first home together was at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska about 45 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. While there the Lord blessed us with two daughters; Angella Dawn and Danille Nichol Sanders, born just sixteen months apart. As a family we spent many blessed years together while severing in the Air Force until my retirement in 1995. After my retirement we moved back to our home town of Pleasant Hill to be near family and friends. Both our daughters finished High School in Pleasant Hill. Angella graduated in 1997 and Danielle in 1999. Both graduated college, married and lives for their Lord Jesus. Angella went to be with our Lord and Savior on January 9th, 2009. Danielle is happily married to her husband of six years; Derek Friedrich and they now live in Pleasant Hill with us.
Brief Testimony:
Due to limited space I must give a brief testimony of how and when I came to believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, but please do not allow the brief nature of this testimony to send an incorrect message that my testimony is somehow only briefly significant. My salvation by grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone was and is the most significant/meaningful thing that’s ever happen to me. I was born again through the power and working of God’s Holy Spirit in my heart and in my life in 1990. By God’s grace and through my belief in Christ finished work on the cross I was saved from my slavery to sin and hell. Prasie God and to Him be the glory, amen.
Church Background
I grew up attending and worshiping at First Baptist Church of Pleasant Hill, MO. After joining the US Air Force in June 1977 my family and I lived in a number of different locations and attended several different Baptist churches. After my true salvation in Christ through faith we attended different denominational churches trying to find the denominational or non-denomination church most correctly taught and lived the Truth of God’s inerrant Word. We ended up joining a small, newly formed Baptist church (Central Baptist Church) where we served the Lord in a number of different ministries as it grew in number and maturity. I was ordained as a deacon in this church. It was during this time that I felt the deep desire to know and study God’s Word so I enrolled in college (Wayland Baptist University) to help me accomplish that goal..After many years of study I complete a Bachelors degree and a Master’s degree in Theology. I am now working on my ‘Doctorial degree in theology through Louisiana Baptist University and Seminar. I served as a Youth Pastor for several years at First Baptist Church in Pleasant Hill (1995 – 1999) and from that ministry position I went on to become the Pastor of Strasburg Baptist Church (2000 – present).
Ordained:
Deacon 1992; Minister of the Gospel 1995
Hobbies & Interest:
While in the military I enjoyed power lifting/lifting weights and skeet shooting as hobbies, but my real interest was being involved in the lives of every member of my family. My wife and I loved raising our two daughters. To be honest we really didn’t have any other interest besides them and enjoying loving and raising them. That was a blessed time in all our lives. After Jesus became Lord and Savior my life He became our families number one interest and my daughters salvation became our number one focus. My interest and my families interest mostly focused on knowing and glorifying God and enjoying Him in all things. We do have a few other hobbies and interest, but they are somewhat limited by time. I now enjoy bow hunting, although, as of now, I’ve never really killed anything with my bow. So maybe I should say I enjoy shooting my bow at targets because that’s mostly what I do with my bow.