After about a month as lead pastor at Waunakee First Baptist Church, the Rev. David Pritchett is making the transition from an assistant pastor into his new role.
The Marshall man just celebrated his fourth Sunday service at the church, having previously served at Madison Baptist Church, where he was associate pastor for nine and half years.
“Obviously, it’s exciting, the novelty. But I’m still a little nervous. It’s not a job to be taken lightly. As a pastor, I’m shepherding souls,” Pritchett said.
His move came about after he had looked to start a church in DeForest, where he began a Bible study group. Meanwhile, Waunakee’s First Baptist Church was without a pastor, he said.
He described the beginning of the “church plant” in DeForest, saying the group was “able to meet in a beautiful facility, in a former funeral home.” He said it was similar to the Waunakee church’s former home in Waunakee, where Winn Funeral Home was previously located on Main Street.
Then, in January, he was called to preach at the Waunakee church.
About 20-25 active members belong to Waunkaee’s First Baptist Church. It’s a smaller congregation than at Madison Baptist Church, where 125 members attend.
A native of Elgin, Illinois, Pritchett felt the calling to preach as a boy attending church. The pastor had missionaries come to share their experiences and teach from time to time, and one day, a missionary from Nigeria was the guest.
“”That’s when I believed the Lord had said, ‘I’m setting you aside to preach,’” Pritchett remembered. “I gave myself to the Lord and said, ‘Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do.”
He wasn’t sure at the time if that meant preaching or missionary work, but he attended a Christian school and then Bible college until finally attending a Bible institute in Wisconsin at his former church. He has since had many opportunities to preach and share the word of God in Madison, and when other pastors are on vacation, he’s been able to fill in.
He always saw himself as an assistant pastor, but when he embarked on starting a new church, he felt God may have had other plans, he said.
The transition away from Madison Baptist Church has been a bit of a challenge for him and his family, including his wife, Rebeka, and their children Charlotte, age 8, Jairus, 5, and Hope, 3. His new role in a new church has been a learning experience, he said.
When Pritchett is not at church, he enjoys hockey, and recalled playing roller hockey in the streets as a kid. A military brat, he always found lots of other kids to play with, he said.
He also enjoys getting outdoors with his children and playing, along with reading.
“I spend as much time as I can with family while at the same time trying to be a help and a blessing to wherever my church is, in Madison or Waunakee,” he said.
Pritchett says he invites the community to attend services.
“My main purpose for what I do and what we do is to share the glory of God…sharing that God loves every individual. He gave that when he gave Jesus Christ, his son, to die on the cross,” Pritchett said.
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