Pastor Oatsvall - Senior Pastor

Pastor Appel - Assistant Pastor
Pastor Oatsvall’s family moved to Camp Douglas, WI when he was 9 years old. The following year a neighbor friend of his took a pocket New Testament and shared with him how he could know that he was saved and on his way to Heaven. That day, Pastor Oatsvall bowed his head and prayed, asking Jesus Christ to save him. The following week, at a revival meeting, he received assurance of his salvation. As an 11 year old, Pastor Oatsvall went forward in a church service and surrendered his life to full-time Christian service, knowing that the Lord was calling him to preach. During his teen age years, Pastor Oatsvall began to grow cold to spiritual things, as he formed close friendships with the “wrong crowd.” He would go on to be married and to spend many years doing what he wanted, even becoming a successful businessman. In 1998, Pastor Ketchum invited Pastor Oatsvall to attend the Heart Conference at Northland Baptist College. It was during this week that the Lord confirmed in his heart that he was called to the ministry. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Oatsvall began preparing for the ministry while pursuing a degree from Louisiana Baptist University. Prior to becoming the pastor of First Baptist Church, Pastor Oatsvall served as the Associate Pastor for two years
Pastor Oatsvall’s love for the Lord and for the people of First Baptist Church is evident by his preaching and his faithful service.
Pastor and Mrs. Oatsvall have two children. Their daughter, Heather is married to Dave Dahl and lives in Tennessee with her husband and their 4 children. Their son, Paul, is married and lives in Tomah, Wisconsin with his wife, Katie, and their 2 children. 
​At the age of 10, Pastor Appel began riding the church bus of Calvary Baptist Church in Chillicothe, IL. Four years later, at a teen Winter Retreat, the Lord worked in his heart, and he repented of his sins and asked Jesus Christ to be His Saviour. In 1991, while at Camp Joy (Whitewater, WI), Pastor Appel recognized that the Lord was calling him into the full-time ministry. That Summer, he surrendered to whatever the Lord would have him to do. In the fall of 1998, Pastor Appel enrolled at Ambassador Baptist College to begin training for the ministry. He and Mrs. Appel were married in June of 2000. They lived in Shelby, NC until 2005 when Pastor Appel graduated. Since then, they have been involved in church planting in Western Nebraska, and they have served on staff at a church in Eastern North Carolina.
In June of 2016, FBC extended the call to Pastor Appel to begin serving under Pastor Oatsvall as the Assistant Pastor. He and his family arrived a month later and have been joyfully serving since then. Pastor Appel enjoys working with the young people of the church and the surrounding communities. It is his desire to see them grounded in the Scriptures and to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

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