By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
COVINGTON – Don Pucik, a former Louisiana Baptist pastor who moved out of state in 2002, has returned as association mission strategist for the Northshore Baptist Association. Pucik, who served as senior pastor of Wynne Baptist Church in Wynne, Arkansas since 2013, said he is excited about the opportunity to minister to pastors in a state where he once served.
“For us it’s a homecoming,” Pucik said. “Two of our six kids were born here and the rest of them grew up here. We have always loved Louisiana, particularly south Louisiana’s culture. We’ve always loved the celebrated spirit of Louisiana life. We are really delighted to be back and we are looking forward to the future.”
CALLED TO SERVE
Pucik was raised in a family that practiced Roman Catholicism, but he turned from God and religion when he entered high school, he told the Baptist Message. However, before his senior year he found
Christ during a worship service at a Baptist church in Dayton, Ohio.
“In high school, I stepped back away from all things church, God and religion,” he said. “The world for me became a very dark place. I met some genuine Christians who invited me to church and it was there in a storefront mission church that I heard the Gospel for the first time. By faith I trusted Him and He changed my heart.”
While at the University of Texas, Pucik started a Bible study and it quickly grew too big for his dormitory room. He realized then God was calling him into vocational ministry, and he soon transferred to Blue Mountain College in Blue Mountain, Mississippi, to train for ministry.
During the years that followed, Pucik served as associate pastor and church administrator at First Baptist Church, Beverly Hills, California; pastor of Dumas Baptist Church, Dumas, Mississippi; pastor of New Covenant Baptist Mission, Lake Charles; associate pastor and minister of outreach at First Baptist Church, Lake Charles; pastor of membership and ministry at Crosspoint Baptist Church, Baton Rouge; editor of pastoral content at LifeWay Christian Resources and pastor to singles at The Peoples Church in Franklin, Tennessee; and, associate executive director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas.
He and his wife, Gail, have six children and two grandsons.
VISION TO MINISTER
Pucik said his vision is four-fold, explaining that he will focus his efforts to: lift up Jesus; fulfi ll the Great Commission and evangelize the lost; encourage pastors, ministers and church leaders; and, strengthen churches.
“My personal conviction is the Lord has a plan for the Northshore,” he said. “My task is to discover and get in on what the Lord is doing. What we need is a vision of God like Isaiah has and in the context of pursuing Him and seeing His face, tha will be clear.
“How we do our work is just as important as what we do,” he continued. “The last thing we need is another busy associational calendar. We want to be focused on what the Lord has in mind.”
