By Cristina Janney
Newton Kansan
Posted Apr 24, 2009 @ 10:06 AM
When most kids his age were consumed by sports and first discovering girls, Doug Ingmire was discovering his passion. That is when Ingmire, the pastor of Newton Christian Church, first felt a calling to ministry.
And even though he was a child himself, he knew he wanted to work with kids.
“It is hard to describe a calling,” said Ingmire, 59, who has been a minister for more than 40 years. “I knew through preaching and teaching, God was saying something to me. The hard part was surrendering to that call.”
Ingmire said he knew he was being drawn toward the ministry, but at 12, he really did not know what that meant.
Today, Ingmire says working in the ministry, especially with children, refuels his soul.
“I just like kids. I like to hear their questions. I can work with them through their struggles,” he said.
Newton Christian Church last year, under the oversight of youth minister Jan Hastings, started the BLAST program for at-risk youth. About 20 students participate in the weekly afterschool program, which has included team-building games, life skills lessons and group trips to sporting events.
“We try to teach them not to take handouts, to learn to work hard, to respect, be patient and have manners,” Ingmire said.
Church member Pam Copper has known Ingmire since she was 16. Copper’s father was a minister and knew Ingmire when he was a youth pastor in Norton.
“He has a passion for youth,” Copper said. “He always has time for them. The kids always felt comfortable with him and could tell him anything — good or bad. He was their safe harbor in a stormy world.”
In addition to working in youth ministry, Ingmire has had an emphasis in marriage and family ministry.
Ingmire conducts workshops titled Malichi and counsels couples with his wife of 38 years, Janet.
The couple has three children, two grown. The youngest, Ethan, is a sophomore at Berean Academy.
The couple met during a Bible study when Doug was a student at Manhattan Christian College and Janet was a student at Kansas State University.
The night they met, Janet told her roommate she had met the man she was going to marry. Likewise, Doug told his mother he had met the woman he was going to marry.
Doug said he has been able to keep his marriage strong by going on regular dates and doing devotions with his wife. The couple steals away for lazy afternoons browsing in antique and old hardware stores or quick treasure hunts at the Et Cetera Shop in Newton.
“We just enjoy being together,” Doug Ingmire said. Janet said shared time, passion and interests have been the cement that has kept them together.
“We learned at an early age to communicate,” she said. “He had a ministry in Bellville, and we would travel long distances together from Manhattan. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and asking each other questions.”
Doug said the best summer his family had was when they decided to do nothing — no soccer, no baseball, no summer camp.
“We just decided to take the summer off, and we did all our favorite stuff. We took the summer to all rebuild our relationships,” he said.
When offering advice to families, Ingmire tries to tell them to slow down and take time for each other.
“Busyness rapes relationship,” Ingmire said. “The truth is families are out of control. They are here and there. Priorities are critical. If we don’t plan time, someone will plan it for us.”
Janet said despite years of devoted service in the ministry and community, Doug’s legacy will be his family.
“I think he loves being a father and a grandfather to four and a fifth on the way,” Janet said. “He has always enjoyed his family. They are very important to him.
“His parents have been married for 60 years, and mine were married for 63 years,” she said. “I think he would say it is a legacy passed down from his parents. We both come from large families in which we were always loved. I think he wants to pass that down to the next generation.”
“We learned at an early age to communicate,” she said. “He had a ministry in Bellville, and we would travel long distances together from Manhattan. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and asking each other questions.”
Doug said the best summer his family had was when they decided to do nothing — no soccer, no baseball, no summer camp.
“We just decided to take the summer off, and we did all our favorite stuff. We took the summer to all rebuild our relationships,” he said.
When offering advice to families, Ingmire tries to tell them to slow down and take time for each other.
“Busyness rapes relationship,” Ingmire said. “The truth is families are out of control. They are here and there. Priorities are critical. If we don’t plan time, someone will plan it for us.”
Janet said despite years of devoted service in the ministry and community, Doug’s legacy will be his family.
“I think he loves being a father and a grandfather to four and a fifth on the way,” Janet said. “He has always enjoyed his family. They are very important to him.
“His parents have been married for 60 years, and mine were married for 63 years,” she said. “I think he would say it is a legacy passed down from his parents. We both come from large families in which we were always loved. I think he wants to pass that down to the next generation.”
Labels: missional
