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The Peace Lutheran Church has welcomed Pastor David White as their new congregation leader. The congregation, previously led by Pastor Jeff Johnson for seven years, will now be under the direction of White who is a native of Texas.
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White and his wife Patricia have been married for 40 years and raised their two, now grown children, Daniel and Jessica in their hometown of Mineral Wells, Texas. Heavily influenced by his grandmother and her church, White discovered his natural ability for preaching at a very young age and has been a pastor since 1980.
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Before he was sure he wanted to dedicate his life to teaching the scriptures he struggled with what to do with his future. “I started praying about whether or not this is what the Lord wanted me to do.”
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While on a walk one evening in the later hours, White came upon two teenagers who happened to be attempting to interpret scripture about baptism from the Bible. After the teenagers explained what their purpose for being at that location past their curfew was, White was more than enthusiastic to help the boys and decided that night he would make ministry his vocation.
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White attended and graduated from George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor, Berean College, Theology and has degrees from Anchor Theological Seminary and Andersonville Theological Seminary. He also attended Free Lutheran Seminary in Minneapolis, Minn.
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He joined his first congregation as founding pastor at the Woodland Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and eventually three other Baptist ministries before moving to Nebraska where he joined his first Lutheran congregation, the Abiding Word Lutheran Church.
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Though he started as a Baptist pastor, he grew increasingly more fascinated with the way the Lutheran church taught their catechism, the way they teach they teach kids about the Bible and answered what the church refers to as his “calling” to continue utilizing his gift but with the Lutheran church. From there he continued to serve Lutheran congregations throughout Minnesota and Texas.
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When asked why he chose Holbrook he explained that during a trip to Holbrook before accepting the position, he and his wife were in favor of the cozy community from the start. White said, “There are great people here. I like the congregation.” Adding that he plans to retire in Holbrook. In reference to the new pastor, Vicki King, who is president of the church council, said that when the church administration met to select their new pastor it was an easy decision as he possessed some of the same ambitions as Johnson had with his enthusiasm for the community and believes White will continue to help the church flourish. According to King, she believes his enthusiasm for the community is what makes him such a great fit. “He was very thrilled to be here. He really wants to be involved in the community.”
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“I’m looking forward to increasingly becoming a part of the community activities here.” True to his statement, Pastor White has dived head-first into the community events praying at the opening ceremonies of the Navajo County Fair and has even joined the Painted Desert Kiwanis Club in the two short months he’s been in Holbrook.
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Pastor White shared that the Christian gospel group Final Harvest from New York is touring Northern Arizona will be performing at 6:30 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Lutheran Church in Holbrook and everyone is welcomed to attend at no cost. Anyone seeking further information about the Lutheran Church or evangelical trainings taught by Pastor White can call (928) 524-2718 or visit the website at https://peacelutheranholbrook.org/.
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