I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and in a gospel preaching church from my earliest memories. However it was not until November 13, 1996 at the age of twelve that I made Christ my Savior personal. I was involved in a nursing home ministry and I remember that the Holy Spirit took the gospel sermon that Monday night and did a convicting work that I could not ignore. It really shook me. When I got home that night, I went to my bedroom and prayed to Christ to forgive and save me from my sin. Praise the Lord He did!
I wish I could say that after accepting Christ I did not struggle with following God’s will for my life. From a young boy I had a heart for ministry. I always told people that I wanted to be a song leader, so the heart for ministry was there. However, around the age of 15 I began to focus on a secular career. I told people I felt this was God’s will for my life. I was not walking with God and had lost sensitivity to Him. I continued in this path until the age of 18 when God did a life changing work in my life. He used a godly preacher, Pastor Micheal Cowell, to do it. Pastor Cowell came to preach our Missions Conference. He asked me what I planned on doing with my life, and I told him I was going to be a State Trooper. God touched his heart, and he began praying for me during that week. God broke through to me when Pastor Cowell asked me later that week, “Do you think you may have missed your calling?” God continued to work on me for several days, and I finally surrendered to God’s call on my life to preach. I felt as if God let me know that if I chose not to follow His will I would not live a long life. Upon surrendering to preach, I also felt that God was calling me to be a senior pastor. God has continually confirmed His call on my life ever since.
A month after surrendering, my pastor, Don Williams, had me preach on a Sunday night to our church. I was nervous, but afterwards I wanted to do it again. My desire to preach is raging and grows every time I preach.
God led me to Bible college in 2003 to prepare for ministry. I majored in Bible and minored in Church Leadership. Through my four years there, I was heavily involved in Bus ministry and as teaching Sunday School. In the summer of 2006, I interned under Pastor Frank Jones at Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. God used that summer to grow my preaching experience and define my beliefs.
In May of 2007 I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and in July I was married to Sheila Shaw. Throughout her college years she knew that she would serve the Lord but she did not want to serve Him as a pastor’s wife. Before the Lord brought us together, He worked in heart and she surrendered to serve as a pastor’s wife in early 2006. She is my best friend and we love doing ministry together
In 2007 I began working under Dr. Robert Shaw, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Kettering, Ohio. I was privileged to serve as a Sunday School teacher, youth leader and outreach director along with other responsibilities such as website design and maintenance, VBS director, special meetings coordinator, as well as running services and preaching in Pastor Shaw’s absence. In October of 2011 I was ordained and was called by Grace Baptist Church to be Assistant Pastor in August of 2012. God was very good to continue to work in my life and to give specific direction. With the event of Pastor Shaw retiring from the full time pastorate, in October of 2015 Grace Baptist Church called me to be their senior pastor. I thank the Lord for the privilege to serve Him and His church!
Josiah Kagin 