Jason and Aimee Atwood

"Find God's will and do it!" These are the words that resonate in Jason Atwood's heart and mind as he remembers his years of instruction at Fairhaven Baptist College. These are also the words that he heard growing up at Beeville Baptist Church in Texas.

Born into a Christian home, Jason made an early profession of faith, but at age thirteen, during a revival meeting, he was convicted of his true need for salvation and was saved on January 4, 1994. The following spring, Jason's parents began attending Beeville Baptist Church. Although forty miles from their home, his parents made sure that they were at church every time the doors were open. Here they were exposed to a good youth group and a pastor who truly loved his people.

After graduating from high school, Jason began attending a secular college in Corpus Christi. There he had no peace and during a mission's conference at his church, he realized that he needed to obey God's calling. After talking and praying with his dad, Jason surrendered to go to Bible college. Although he had never stepped foot onto the campus of Fairhaven Baptist College, Jason had complete peace and knew that this was the college where God wanted him. He enrolled in the fall semester of 2000, majoring in Pastoral Theology. He enjoyed his time at Fairhaven and learned much through classroom instruction as well as practical training. Jason appreciated all of his classes, but really liked Hebrew History where the Old Testament came alive for him and gave him a better understanding of both its chronology and its relation to the rest of the Bible. Practically, Jason believes that his ministries gave him a good balance for working with all types of people, from the elderly in the nursing home ministry to children through the bus and junior church ministries.

Upon graduating in 2003, Jason married Aimeé Hoover, the daughter of Pastor Paul Hoover, pastor of Souls' Harbor Baptist Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aimeé is also a Fairhaven graduate. After spending a little over a year in Frederick, Maryland, Jason and Aimeé returned to Beeville Baptist Church to serve under Pastor Tim Stowe. There Jason became the bus captain of his own route, helped organize various church activities, and led the College and Career class. During this time, God solidified his calling to the pastorate and gave him a greater zeal. God blessed Jason and Aimeé with a son, Will, on March 2, 2006. The two years that he and Aimeé spent at Beeville gave them much insight and wisdom into the pastorate as he looked to and followed the example of his pastor.

In November of 2006, Heritage Baptist Church, a small struggling church in Corpus Christi, called Jason to be their pastor. Over the past year they have seen God bless tremendously. After outgrowing their original location in a house, they completely renovated a detached garage, turning it into a church with seating for forty to forty-five people. Although they are currently meeting there, they have quickly outgrown this location as well. God has miraculously provided a church building where they will move shortly. Here, in addition to classroom space, they will have the capacity for just over one hundred people in the auditorium.

There have been many challenges along the way, but Jason and Aimeé are thankful for their home church that encouraged and assisted them as they found God's will and Fairhaven Baptist College that gave them the training to do it.