The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – For Pastor Mike Ferrians, ministry is as likely to take place around a schoolroom lunch table, while walking to get the mail at the post office or at the Waitsburg Hardware Store coffee klatch, as it is from the pulpit.

A true pastor of the people, Ferrians' genuine and enthusiastic interest in the lives of others has had a positive impact on many – both churchgoers and non – in the Waitsburg community. On Sunday, May 17, the community is invited to a retirement celebration honoring Ferrians for 25 years of dedicated service as pastor of the Waitsburg Christian Church.

Serving 25 years as pastor in the same church is an accomplishment in itself.

"I remember, at one time, calculating the average tenure of (Waitsburg) Christian Church pastors since the congregation's formation. If you take Vernon Smith out of the equation – he was here about 15 years – the average tenure was two or three years," said Ferrians. "Vernon Smith was one of the most-loved pastors the Christian Church has ever had," he added.

A musician at heart, Ferrians put that God-given talent to use daily in his ministry. Ferrians attended Whitworth College in Spokane, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and Composition. He met his wife, Melissa, at North Hill Christian Church in Spokane in 1984, where she directed the hand bell choir and he was Minister of Youth and Music.

While serving at North Hill, Ferrians says he had a dream in which God asked, "Will you feed my sheep?" He and Melissa married in 1987 and, in answer to that call, the couple moved to Kentucky where Mike earned his Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary while serving part-time as a Christian Church youth pastor in Versailles, Kentucky.

After seminary, Ferrians interviewed at three churches. "We came to Waitsburg in April of 1990," said Melissa. "Mike preached here and we spent four days visiting with the congregation while we stayed with Gil and Wilma Sharpe. Waitsburg called us – and so did one of the other churches – but we knew we were supposed to be here."

Ferrians began serving officially as pastor of the Waitsburg Christian Church in July of 1990.

Ferrians, who has been known to list "religiosity" as a pet peeve, is recognized by many as a true servant leader who practices the relationships and integrity he preaches. Seekers looking for a list of do's and don'ts, have been perplexed by Ferrians' typical, "What do you think?" or "What is God saying to you?" response to their questions. Ferrians desire is always to point the way to God, with no interest in playing God, himself.

Ferrians listed three highlights of his Waitsburg career: participating with the Salt & Light youth choir, the renovation of the church sanctuary, and playing the piano.

Melissa organized and began directing Salt & Light in 1998. The first choir consisted of 14 junior high Waitsburg kids, many who didn't attend church. "Something happened on that tour. The ministry that the kids did was born then. They took ownership," said Melissa.

Salt & Light touched dozens of teens (not to mention adults) over the 15 years of its ministry. The group grew to include high school students, and kids came from Dayton, Walla Walla, Prescott and Pomeroy to be part of the ministry.

"What I enjoyed most about Salt & Light was playing the piano while the kids sang. I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself," Ferrians said. "And also, listening to them sing three and four-part harmony as smoothly and cleanly as any professional group I've heard. Those were cosmic moments for me."

Pam Conover, whose family has been members of the Waitsburg Christian Church for over 100 years, expressed gratitude for the Ferrians' gift of music. "Pastor Mike, through his music has brought great joy and ministry to not only the church but the Touchet Valley Community as well," she said. "Through music, Pastor Mike and Melissa, with the Salt & Light group, provided an avenue of hope and encouragement for our young people. How many lives were touched, we might never know, but seeds of worthiness in God's eyes were surely sown," Conover added.

The renovation of the Christian Church sanctuary, in which a false ceiling was removed and the original dome ceiling and stained glass windows were restored, was another meaningful experience for the Ferrians'. "Watching all the people coming together who wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves; because it's never really about a building. Watching people build relationships with each other who didn't have them before is what matters," Ferrians said.

Though retired from professional ministry, 52-year-old Ferrians has no plans to take it easy. He is excited to continue his involvement with the Touchet Valley Arts Council's live productions where he has played more than half-dozen roles, including Curly in Oklahoma!, Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz and Harold Hill in the Music Man. Ferrians and Brenda Henderson, of Dayton, will be co-directing The Wizard of Oz this year.

He's also excited about his new job at D'Olivo (10 E. Main, Walla Walla), which is opening soon and specializes in "true" extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegars. "People can come in and experience true EVOO in lots of different flavors and infusions from different regions of the world, as well as other artisan items like sea salts, micro roasted nuts and handmade pastas. It's all about relationships, building rapport, and making connections since we'll be educating people as well," he said.

Courtesy Image

Ferrians sings along with kids in the Salt & Light choir.

Ferrians said he plans to heed a slogan that became a mantra for Salt & Light their first year on tour, when a caravan of mini vans (led by Ferrians) became lost. Ferrians insisted he was just "taking the scenic route," an event that occurred at least once annually, thereafter.

"Life is the scenic route if you're willing for it to be. If you want to take the same boring path all the time and keep things predictable, then that's what you get, but it's not much. Take the scenic route, let life be adventurous and watch miracles happen," Ferrians said.

The community is invited to wish Ferrians well as he heads off on his own "scenic route" adventure at a retirement celebration at the Waitsburg Christian Church (6th and Main Street) from 3-6 p.m. on Sunday, May 17. A presentation for Pastor Mike and Melissa will take place at 4 p.m.