Pastor – Nathan Daniels

God used his high school Spanish on the mission field, then directed his life toward pastoral ministry

Nathan Daniels’ earliest and most vivid memory is the day he came to know Christ. He had just turned four and was in the backseat of his mom’s car while she was driving him and his eight-year-old cousin home from a playdate.

“My cousin was telling me all about what it meant to trust Jesus,” Pastor Nathan says. “At his house, Mom pulled over, got in the back seat between us, and we talked for an hour. In the most innocent way I could, I prayed for Jesus to save me.”

While some may question his understanding at such a young age, Nathan knows the experience was real. “The car was an ‘88 Olds,” he says. “I can close my eyes and smell the interior. I can see the thumbtacks across the ceiling holding the headliner up. I can see my cousin Sam’s face. It was too vivid not to have been something significant.”

He wasn’t baptized until he was eight because he didn’t know about it or understand its significance until then.

Called to the ministry at 15, he took a mission trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, that changed his life. He had just finished his Spanish courses in high school. “The mission team used me as one of the interpreters,” he says. “I said, ‘Okay, maybe I should be a missionary.’”

He majored in Spanish and World Religions at Samford University in Birmingham. By the time he had graduated from Beeson Divinity School with a Master of Divinity in 2013, he had been to Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica. “But when I graduated from seminary, every possible door closed.”

He and Jessica, who met in preschool and grew up together in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, were married in 2010. “We lived for the summer of 2012 in Honduras, working with 600 kids at Orphanage Emanuel,” he says. “I thought we’d spend our whole lives there.” But by the time he had finished the seminary in 2013, doors there and at other foreign mission fields where he had served started closing. So he began praying about other opportunities that might be available.

Meanwhile, he was working part-time at First Baptist Church Pleasant Grove. Then Westmont Baptist in Minor called him as pastor. “We were there three years, then Bethany Baptist in Andalusia found us from there. We were down there for seven years. We started our ministry here at FBCA on September 10, 2023.”

Nathan and Jessica have three children: Micah (born 2013), Luke (born 2014), and Lily Grace (born 2018). Nathan’s favorite activity is spending quality time with his family. His interests also include books, movies, sports, technology and archery. The Daniels children love Little League sports, music and art. Nathan and Jessica thoroughly enjoy supporting and participating in those activities with their kids.

Pastor Nathan has a heart for making disciples. He is committed to advancing God’s kingdom, both locally and globally. His passion is to serve the Lord faithfully by building international relationships with people in the community and ultimately leading others closer to Christ.