Meet the Pastor

Zach's Testimony
I didn't grow up in church. I met the Lord while attending New Hope at 19 years of age. As I gave my life to Christ, the Lord immediately called me to full-time ministry. The thought of being in full-time ministry was terrifying at first; I was terrified of public speaking, and I had very little knowledge of Scripture; however, the Lord affirmed that He would train me to be the man He called me to be. One quote that I always hold dear to my heart is: "God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called." The Lord used the drama, Heaven's Gates and Hells Flames, to take me out of my comfort zone. He used the drama, presenting projects in college, and various speaking opportunities to raise me up to be the passionate, bold speaker I am today. Years into serving the Lord, He challenged me to take over as youth leader. My wife and I took over the youth group while we were still engaged; the youth grew in numbers, but the thing we are most proud of is their spiritual growth. We challenged the youth to own their faith, own their youth group, and own their study time. After years of ministering to the youth, the youth took over their services on Wednesday nights; they led the worship, and they led the bible study. My second call to ministry happened at youth camp. The Lord told me to start seminary. After much prayer and confirmation, I began seminary at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary where I am currently pursuing a master's degree in Pastoral Ministry. (I obtained my bachelor's degree in Special Education in 2013.) The Lord has surely trained me in many facets of ministry, just as He promised He would. I still have a lot of growing to do in ministry, but my passion for God's Word and God's people puts me right where I know God has called me to be, the pastor of New Hope Baptist Church.