40°
Walker is coming to the church from his position as campus pastor of Nyack College. While there, Walker also served as an adjunct instructor at the Christian college and its Alliance Theological Seminary.
Walker has a bachelor's degree in sacred music from Nyack and a master's degree in professional studies from Alliance Theological Seminary. During his time at the school, Walker led several musical teams and sponsored a number of international musical mission trips.
Before moving to Nyack, he served as a Christian missionary and Alliance associate pastor and worship pastor for 18 years in churches in Girard, Pa., Virginia Beach, Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa.
After 26 years at the BCC, current Pastor Dwight Ford has moved to a Seattle, Wash., church, closer to the global ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, an international ministry of the Graham Crusades.
Walker will join remaining staff leader Lois Shellrude, pastor of community life at the church, which is located at 160 Bedford Center Road.
“Bedford Community Church is home base for a wide variety of youth, community outreach, and neighborhood celebrations of friendship and service," Shellrude said, a tradition she said Walker is sure to uphold.
Walker is also preparing to enter the Doctor of Ministry program in global leadership under the direction of Martin Sanders, Ph.D, at Alliance Theological Seminary, to graduate in 2016.
Walker, who was officially installed as pastor in September, and his wife, Doni, and their six children live in Mount Kisco, moving there to be closer to Bedford.
Walker’s vision for the church is an inter-generational one, he said. He hopes to foster an environment where the community can come together.
“I will spend the first six months at the Bedford Community Church understanding its unique contribution to that calling, then orient the ministry to it," he said, focusing on connecting with the congregation using his strengths of “preaching, teaching, counseling, and encouragement.”
“It’s more than a guess,” said Walker, “that the world needs more of these.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bedford and receive free news updates.
