Meet the new pastor at Calvary Protestant Church in Baldwin

The Rev. Riley Lynch has been settling into his role as the new pastor of the Calvary Protestant Church in Baldwin after making a transition from his former life in Alabama.

The 30-year-old pastor began his new post on Aug. 4 after he was appointed in April to lead the 150-year-old church, at 2801 Park Ave.

Lynch is now focusing on the future of Calvary while integrating his unique vision —and even his experience — into his new role.

“I sense it will take a lot of leadership to lead them into the next 150 years,” he said. “I sense that I can do that with God’s help, of course.”

But his vision didn’t always involve becoming a minister, he said. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and initially considered a career in the sports industry.  

Originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Lynch attended the University of Dallas to play college basketball for its Division III team. He transferred to Winthrop after his first year to advance to Division I. However, the transition didn’t go as he had planned, describing the experience as an “identity crisis.”

“I wrapped up so much of who I was as a person and as a basketball player, and when that didn’t work out, I was kind of left with, ‘Who am I?’” he said. “The Lord had other plans for my life.”

While in college, he associated himself with friends who were passionate Christians and followers of Jesus. He joined Park Baptist Church in South Carolina in 2015, which opened doors to him that he didn’t see coming.

“I made some really good friends who were just passionate Christians,” he said. “They were following Jesus their whole life, and they invited me to their church in a pretty low season of my life. I got to serve that church and preached my first sermon there, and they sent me off to seminary after I graduated with my undergraduate degree.”

After graduating at Winthrop, he committed to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He recalled that time as one of learning and training mentally and spiritually while working part-time jobs to make ends meet.

“I did work on the campus a bit, more ministry-focused, and I coached basketball through seminary,” he said. “I always had my eyes towards after that season of life. Once I got my education, I would begin to look for, you know, full-time vocational ministry positions. By God’s grace, that’s how it worked out.”

Lynch comes to Baldwin after serving for three years as the pastor for Bush Baptist Church in Troy, Alabama — his first real experience in a ministry post-college.

“I do hope to replicate the philosophy of how I do ministry,” he said. “I’m very open-handed and need to learn what people need here, what people are like here, and how we can get more involved in the community.”

Lynch teased an upcoming event: the “Neighborhood Night” on Sept. 9, which falls on the Saturday after Labor Day. This event aims to increase community involvement with the church.

Preaching from the church’s pulpit for the first time on Aug. 4, he read from the Book of Hebrews, and Lynch said the community was “really warm” and “receptive.”

“It felt good to be here finally,” he said. “Now, the real work begins.”