Pastor Mike Wheeler was born in Great Lakes, Illinois, but since his father was in the U.S. Navy, the family moved all over the United States as he was growing up. When he was in 6th grade, he went to a church camp and heard the simple gospel plan of salvation. He accepted Christ as his Savior and was baptized a short time later. After a few years, he surrendered to do whatever God wanted him to do, and felt the call to preach. Even though he had told God that he would serve Him, he kept putting off doing anything about it.
Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Navy and a year later he married his high school sweetheart, Kristin Cook. He was in the military for 8 1/2 years, and they had their first two children, Alyssa and Sean. He kept feeling God urging him to do His will and get right, but it was not until 2002 that he finally listened.
Pastor Wheeler began going to Heritage Baptist Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. He found a website that listed different towns in America that did not have an Independent Baptist church. He had never been west of the Mississippi River and had never heard of Watertown, but for some reason, Watertown, South Dakota, stuck out to him. He began praying that God would send someone to start a church in Watertown.
During his schooling, he got out of the Navy, and the Wheelers had their third child, Caralynn. Pastor and Kristin taught a Sunday School class of over 150 inner-city teens, and he preached during the service . He jumped at the opportunity to preach any time it was offered to him, including heading up the church's preaching to local homeless men at the city mission.
As he finished his schooling in 2006, the Wheelers were earnestly praying for God to show them where to go. Imagine their surprise when they opened a Christian newspaper and found an ad that said, “Is God calling you to be a missionary pastor to Watertown, South Dakota?” He was shocked that the little town that his wife and he had been talking and praying about for four years had an Independent Baptist church that needed a pastor.
From there, things moved quickly, and after the church voted for him to be their pastor, they packed up their possessions and moved 1,000 miles away in November of 2006. During his time in South Dakota, the Lord allowed people to be saved and baptized and the church to grow in number. He started a missions program, a visitation program, and a nursing home ministry. God also blessed the family with their fourth child, Ethan.
The beginning of 2009 brought difficult times for Pastor Wheeler. He began having issues with his health and was forced to resign as pastor. Heartbroken at these events, he turned to the Lord for guidance. The Lord answered his prayer in June of 2009, when he made contact with Adrian Baptist Church concerning the open pastor position. After many phone calls, letters, emails and preaching services, the church voted to have Pastor Wheeler come and assume the position as pastor.
Pastor Wheeler and his family moved to New York in July of 2009 and are eager to serve the Lord and the people in this wonderful community. They pray that they can be a blessing to you and your family in the days ahead.
