Pastor Tate Walker and his family were welcomed to the Tarkio First Baptist Church family on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Pictured are, from left to right: front row – Chapman, Blythe, and Livia Walker; and back row – Henry, Elliot, Angela, Tate, and Emersyn Walker. (Tarkio First Baptist Church photo)

Tarkio First Baptist Church recently announced the hiring of a new pastor, Tate Walker. Pastor Walker has served for the past 17 years as Youth Pastor at Laura Street Baptist Church in Maryville, Missouri. He has also been the Youth Pastor at Grand Oaks for the past 10 years where he has met a number of the church youth and families. In addition to youth ministry, Tate has been involved in church planning, mission trips, recruiting church leadership, pastoral care, leading committees, preparing and overseeing budgets and officiating special services such as weddings, funerals, baptisms and the Lord’s Supper.

Tate has a Master’s in Theology from the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and has read and affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Tate holds firmly to the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. He preaches from scripture and believes it is imperative to shepherd a church through sharing God’s word and building strong relationships.

The church’s committee has visited with Tate and his wife, Angela, many times over the past weeks and has come to know them as honest, genuine, outgoing and caring people. Their family includes six children ages 6-17 and together they place a high value on “doing family well.” Pastor Walker said, “Our family will be moving to the parsonage hopefully by the middle of August. The church has done a marvelous job renovating the main level of the parsonage and are graciously working at finishing out the basement to accommodate our family. We feel blessed by the hospitality of the church.”

As a pastor, Tate will challenge the church to grow spiritually as a church and as individuals. His reliance upon the scriptures will serve as a strong foundation for leading the congregation. Pastor Walker has a good sense of humor, enjoys the outdoors and works hard to build relationships. Building on his years of service at Laura Street Baptist Church, he possesses the necessary skills to lead the ministry and operations of the church. Pastor Walker remarked, “Every church from every corner of the world should seek to grow and become more like Christ while reaching the lost. I have numerous thoughts and ideas about what God may have in mind for Tarkio FBC, but my efforts as pastor will be grounded in a few things. As pastor, I must seek to faithfully preach the Word of God, shepherd and disciple the members of Tarkio FBC, and proclaim the gospel where I have opportunity.”

Join Tarkio First Baptist Church for a special day of worship and celebration Sunday, July 9, at Tarkio First Baptist Church. A worship service will begin at 10:00 a.m. followed by a lunch in honor of Pastor David Robertson and his service as interim pastor. The installation of Pastor Tate Walker will take place at 6:00 p.m. that evening. You are invited to share in this special service as the church officially installs its new pastor.