Pastor Russ Baun was born and raised in Orchard Park, New York. It was during evangelistic services in the 5th grade that he realized he was a sinner in need of God’s provision of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. “I repented of my sins and placed my trust in Christ as my Savior.”
In his teen years, he was active in the youth group at First Baptist Church of West Seneca and a student in West Seneca Christian School. Following graduation, he attended Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio and Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. “During my last two years at BJU, I ministered on the weekends as the youth pastor for Carson Memorial Baptist Church in Kings Mountain, NC. It was during my time there that I felt God’s call into the ministry.”
Russ & Krista Baun
Pastor Baun married Krista Yessa in June, 1987. He earned an M.A. in Pastoral Theology in 1993 from Bob Jones Seminary. In that same year, he and his wife went to Togo, West Africa as missionaries. They spent three years there involved in church planting and pastoral training.
In 1999, God led them back to West Seneca Christian School where Russ served as the school administrator and Krista taught in the elementary school. In 2006, they moved to Sellersville, Pennsylvania where Russ served as a member of the pastor staff of Bethel Baptist Church and Upper Bucks Christian School. During that time, he completed an M.S. degree in Educational Leadership.
In 2012, Pastor Russ accepted a pastoral staff position at Oakwood Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina. While there, he served as the administrator of Oakwood Christian School and completed a Specialist degree in Education at Bob Jones University. After four years, God opened the door for him to become the pastor of Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina. “My wife and I are delighted to be a part of this church and are praying for a long and fruitful ministry here.”