Bill Sturm has served almost three years under the leadership of Pastor Sean first as a teacher then as an Assistant Pastor.
His responsibilities include tracking attendance, following up with visitors, integrating regular attenders, research & writing for Pastor Sean, Pastoring the Chapel Class, teaching the 12th Grade Bible Class for BBA, and coordinating the missions program. He is also the boys' Varsity soccer coach for Berean Baptist Academy.
Pastor Bill is a Chaplain in the United States Army Reserve presently assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion in Greensboro, NC and has an M.R.E. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently three classes away from his MDiv from LBTS.
His greatest privilege is to be a Pastor, the husband to Nikki and the father to Bethany, Jacob, and Leah.
Read some of my papers and articles (click below).
Family
In 1998, Brother Bill married, Nikki Noffsinger after serving under her father as his Assistant Pastor at Liberty Baptist Church of Central City, Kentucky for approximately nine months. They have three wonderful children.
Interests
Spending time with my wife; Raising my children; Standing in my backyard; Preaching; Preaching; Teaching; Preaching; Studying; Thinking; Spending time with my extended family; Preaching; Preaching; Winning Souls; Nature; Preaching; Teaching; Winning Souls; Preaching; Singing; Eating; Cleaning; Home Improvements; Machine Work; Electricity; Neurology; Soldiering; Playing the piano; Preaching (I like preaching); Animals; Preaching
Conversion
It's too bad I cannot give the credit, humanly speaking, to those whom I knew growing up. I was raised in one particular Baptist Church where I was taught that I must "ask Jesus in to [my] heart" to go to Heaven. I grew up with many doubts all the time. When I say "all the time", I mean constantly praying the prayer until I felt better for the time being.
I got a small glimpse of salvation by faith without prayer when I was 16 years old when I read a pamphlet saying so. Earl and Phyllis Wiehl were the help there. They were in that church, and they understood what it was to be born again by faith alone in the work of Christ. Then, there was that day about a year earlier when Phil Croom came over to my house late one evening to speak of these things. My, I wanted to grasp what we were talking about that evening, but my heart was not opened. My mind was clouded. I longed for simple faith to simply believe the good news that Jesus died for me- for my sin, and I wanted to accept that alone as my payment for sin, but I couldn't get that need for an "experience" out of my heart.
Then, there was the time in the bathroom at the home I grew up in where dad had a Sword of the Lord newspaper with a John R. Rice sermon on the front citing John 20:31. I remember being in awe that "belief" was enough...not a "baptist" salvation by works that included a trip down the aisle and a prayer prayed.
I so badly wanted that experience that everyone else had, so I went on in my lack of assurance by faith alone- and consequently, I went without the "peace with God". Evangelists would come through town and I would "pray the prayer" again and again to make my experience match that which they said was essential.
I was pastoring my 2nd church in Central City, Kentucky when I had had enough. One Sunday morning, I got up mentally exhausted, and got on the internet and found the following page: http://www.brothermike.com/sinner.html
God opened my eyes, and I saw Jesus Lovely, my sin of unbelief ugly, and myself unworthy. I didn't "ask Jesus into my heart". Once and for all- in June of 1999- I trusted what Christ did for me on the cross to save me. John 3:16 says I'm saved, you know. Why is it that a great many of you reading this are not able to use such a verse to prove your salvation? Because you are simply trusting your prayer to save you. By the way, I'm still trusting Christ to save me (that is a command, you know-- 1 John 3:23).
If you ask me right now how I know I'm saved- my answer would be "because Jesus paid for me and died for my sin". You see, I simply accept that fact and go on expecting Heaven because of it. You know what that is? It is "believing in Jesus". John 6:35-37 and John 6:47 are pretty simple.
The Road to the Pastorate
After two short pastorates in Bowling Green and Central City, Kentucky, it was apparent that 22 years old was just a little young for me to be pastoring. So, off we went into the U.S. Army for 8 1/2 years on Active Duty. I began as a Chaplain Assistant and reclassified to a Prime Power Production Specialist where I was able to serve as a Supervisor and be selected for Sergeant First Class prior to an early ETS on the way to becoming a Pastoral Intern at Berean and a Chaplain Candidate in the USAR.
I wish it was all just as simple as I said it. I was going to be a 20-year guy and I was on TDY on a Hawaiian island when I felt like God wanted me to steer clear of attending SFAS, and I was in my own motorpool in Schofield Barracks, HI when I felt like God wanted me to steer clear of Officer Candidate School to become a Chaplain in the Army.
The only thing that kept us on that road was a belief that He was going to allow us to quickly get back on Active Duty as a Chaplain. If you were to tell my wife and me that, "Nope, you will not be back on Active Duty as a Chaplain, you are going to be a Reservist and a long-time Assistant Pastor," we probably would not have been "led" to get out (if you know what I mean).
So, almost 8 years after I began what I thought was a road to the chaplaincy, but wasn't sure...I was made a chaplain in the US Army Reserve. 7 years of school (interrupted by two deployments to Iraq) and 10 years of maturation has brought the Sturm family to the kingdom "for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14).
