McComas saying goodbye to Cannan Free Will Baptist

CRESTON -- For more than two decades, Jim McComas has served as pastor at the "Thrill on the Hill," "the greatest congregation in the world," aka Canaan Free Will Baptist Church. At the end of February, that will change.

The Wayne County born and bred minister will become director of church revitalization in the Home Missions Department of the National Association of Free Will Baptists in Nashville, Tenn. In his new role, McComas will work with congregations like the one he has been affiliated with for the past 25 years.

Back in 1989, the congregation was in a 150-year-old building in Sterling, where people came for two things: Farm equipment or furniture. There were 12 members of the congregation, and they struggled whether to keep the doors open or close the church.

Many of the Free Will Baptist Churches in rural areas in the Midwest and South face a similar situation.

"Church growth leaders would say let them die, churches have a life cycle, just go ahead and kill them, put them out of their misery, it's easier to start something new than to revitalize something on a downward cycle," McComas said. If the Canaan Free Will Baptist congregation had followed that advice, then it would not have become the thriving and growing church it is today. Many people have given their life to the Lord there and were baptized, the congregation has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to missions and it has reached out to the community.

"What happened here can happen anywhere," McComas said. "God is the same."

As McComas travels throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, he will share the story of his home congregation that was struggling, but stepped out on faith, purchased five acres on state Route 3 outside of Creston and has gone through two building campaigns.

McComas attributes the growth of the congregation "to the Lord, but the Lord has to work through people. We have some wonderful, caring people who got a vision for God to do something."

Part of that vision is working with the community.

On Dec. 27, 2000, six students in the Norwayne school district died in a crash. McComas remembered standing outside of Murray Funeral Home looking at all of the students lined up to pay their last respects. While he knew the ones who attended the church, he did not know all of the students.

"They were looking at me, and I was just a guy in the suit," McComas said. "I wanted to be known as more than the guy in the suit."

He became more involved with the students, teaching religious education during release time, and he began announcing sporting events. He, and the congregation, became more involved in serving those outside of the church walls.

Deciding to take the new position was not an easy thing, McComas said. "For God to move me, I knew it would have to be a neon sign in the front yard kind of thing. God revealed it was His will."

"As sad as it is to leave all that is familiar to me in Wayne County, Ohio, mainly being a pastor's wife at Canaan Freewill Baptist Church, I am excited about this new opportunity," Beth McComas said. She has worked for Westfield Insurance for the past 36 years, and she will work out of the company's Nashville service office. "My husband and I both share a passion for our Free Will Baptist denomination, therefore having him work in this office we feel is a high honor."

In addition to his preaching and ministry, McComas has been the baritone in the Representatives Quartet for the past 25 years. On the quartet's website, the members wrote, "We want to thank Jim for his never ending love and devotion he has given our quartet for the past 25 years. We can truly say that he loved the ministry and this was not an easy decision for him. We know he will miss this part of his ministry as well as we will miss him. Please pray for Jim, his wife Beth, and their sons, Matt and Aaron, as they begin their new journey."

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or [email protected]. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.