Pastor Randy Nims
"I was born in Upstate NY on the edge of the Adirondack Mountains and spent most of my childhood dreaming of being an astronaut and visiting countless worlds. I attended Blue Mountain Academy and began learning aviation from Herald Streidl and then majored in aviation at Andrews University. After the first semester I realized flying was not something I was passionate about and would rather learn more about all the components of an airplane. I enrolled in the Airframe & Powerplant program at Andrews University and graduated with a degree in Technology. After this I decided I wanted to continue my education and moved down to the state of Texas to major in aerospace engineering. It is here that I met my future wife Amy and have been together now for 28 years. As I was completing my last semester in engineering I received several job interviews from aviation corporations and chose to work for Pratt & Whitney in Arlington, Texas. I attended church with my then girlfriend Amy Gilmore at Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church. Several people from the Sabbath School I attended put a bug in my ear that I should consider full-time ministry. I responded that they must be crazy since I had spent the last 7 years in college fulfilling my life long dream of exploring the universe. But that notion kept harassing my thinking and impressing upon me that ministry was where God was calling me. "Why didn't you let me know this earlier!", I kept thinking in my mind.
At this time Amy Gilmore, who was about to become Amy Nims, had just completed the nursing program and began working in a nearby hospital as a registered nurse. Amy and I prayed about this possible calling and where God could be taking us. I made a deal with God that I would take a week off from work and fly up to Andrews University to check into their ministry program, but He only had a week to answer this calling. I told God that we would need a house, a job for each of us, enrollment in some sort of ministry program, and several other means for moving from Texas to Michigan, but He had only one week to do it in. Looking back I believe if I was looking for a sign I should not have put the Lord to the test! God didn't need one week, he did it all in three days!
And well the rest is history. Amy continues to work as a registered nurse and I a full-time pastor. We have two children Meagan (16) and Braedon (14). Really, when I think about it I am still going to visit countless worlds. The only difference is now I am proclaiming the gospel message so that countless numbers can join me!"