Dave and Belinda Mallinak

Two very important decisions young people make are where to go to college and who to marry. It has been said that the best place to find a mate is at a good, fundamental, Bible college. Dave Mallinak, from Indiana, and Belinda Notestine, from Pennsylvania, did just that. They both sought parental and pastoral guidance in choosing the college God wanted them to attend and as a result found their life's mate there. Dave's course of study was Pastoral Theology and Belinda's was Elementary Education.

The Mallinaks are now on the staff at Berean Baptist Church in Ogden, Utah. Belinda teaches kindergarten and first grade. Dave is assistant to Pastor Mark Short and also teaches in the school. He devotes a large amount of his time to the youth ministry and is excited to report that some of his goals are being met in the lives of these young people. Dave sets goals for each one individually to develop them into mature, godly Christians. The youth group as a whole has taken a giant step forward in the area of soulwinning. They have become serious about their faithfulness to the teen visitation program and are working hard at getting new teens out to visit the church. There were 35 first-time teen visitors out for the Neighborhood Bible Time program this past July.

Nine out of ten doors in Ogden they knock on belong to Mormons. The serious ones will not even talk or take a tract, but many are Mormon in name only. A relationship still has to be established with this type of family before they will allow their children to come to the Baptist church. It is challenging work yet rewarding as Dave sees his teens understand their responsibility to be soulwinners themselves and move forward in this area.

Dave has a long-term goal of steering his teens toward Bible College and encourages them to open their hearts to God's call into full-time Christian service. He realizes that not all are called, but if they are searching for God's will, the right Bible college can help a young person's discernment.

Berean Baptist is in the process of purchasing a bus to start a bus ministry in the next few months. Dave is excited to be a part of this ministry also and knows it will greatly expand the opportunities to minister to the teens there in Ogden.