ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Multiple churches in Liberal have been seeing new faces heading up congregations this year, and the First United Methodist Church is the most recent to make such a change.
Recently, Rusty Husted was announced as the church’s new pastor. As he tells it, his path to becoming a pastor started at a rather early age.
“I'm actually a pastor's son myself, my father was a United Methodist pastor for more than 45 years in New Mexico. It's not really a family tradition per se, but I was called in college to take up and become a pastor in the pulpit,” Husted said. “I'd been set on being a youth minister, but that all changed when He directed my will toward a different occupation, and I see it deeply as a calling to pulpit ministry in the Methodist Church as an elder. Since then, I haven't really looked back or questioned it. I started ministering back in 2002. I started as a youth minister and did that for multiple years, and then in 2007, I was appointed to my first church during my career in the seminary, and I've been a senior pastor since then. I've served in various churches in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. I've got a doctorate in ministry and a master's in divinity.”
All of that, Husted said, ultimately brought him to Liberal.
“I'm new to Kansas, I've only been in the state since 2023, and I had a small church in Altamont, which is south of Parsons on the east side of Kansas,” Husted said. “In the Methodist Church, we're appointed by a bishop and the post at Liberal's United Methodist Church was opening up due to Brad Bennett retiring, and the bishop thought I would be a good fit for the church based on my education and qualifications. Liberal's church is a bit of a hub for the Southwest Kansas area, so we're looking to revitalize the church and help it grow an impact for Jesus in the community. The bishop, David Wilson, ultimately thought I would be a good fit for that kind of ministry coming into this particular situation we find ourselves in. With the decline in attendance in all churches throughout the U.S., that hasn't really escaped Liberal, the bishop thought I would be a good fit.”
Husted said he is excited to have made his way to the area.
“I'm just pleased to be in this area. I'm not totally unacquainted with the area, I actually graduated high school in Clayton, N.M., which is only a couple hours away, and my wife, Jessica, who's the pastor of the Methodist Church in Meade, has family in the Hugoton area,” Husted said. “Something I'm really looking forward to is getting to know the people of the area and getting to know their lives and have conversations with them about their relationship with Jesus and the church and what we can do to help people grow in their relationships with Jesus and God. We want to help be a balm to the division we're seeing in communities and throughout the U.S. and how we can all come together more in our worship of Jesus and God.”
And so far, Husted said, he has received a warm welcome from the community.
“I'm excited to keep meeting the people, I've gotten such a great, warm welcome from everyone I've come across so far, and everyone has been so kind and hospitable,” Husted said. “I'm really hopeful about what we can do in Liberal. So far, everything's been going really well, I've paid visits to the library and Adventure Bay Water Park, especially since I have two children – Anna is 15 and Judah is 11, so that park especially is a perk for them. We're all really looking forward to integrating into the community as best as possible, and everywhere I've gone, people have been very friendly and willing to talk about what's going on in town and what's going on in their lives. I've found everyone to be very welcoming and open, even in just the few weeks I've been here so far.”
Husted added he would like to help build more connections in the community.
“One goal of mine will definitely be to help increase attendance at the church, because I truly believe this church has a lot to offer people as far as growing in God and Jesus Christ,” Husted said. “I also want to be involved with the different entities and agencies that help people in times of need. I know the Stepping Stone Shelter is across the street, so I would really like to get involved there, and I also want to help people get some of their basic needs fulfilled. I know a lot of people are struggling with the economy the way it is right now, and I want to help people not be struggling as much to the best of my capacity. My main goal is to make those connections in the community. I would also want to emphasize how I don't feel like I'm in competition with any of the other churches or ministries in this community, I feel like we're all working to find the ministry God has led us to. We're ALL the body of Christ, and I don't feel like being in competition with the other churches in town is what we need to be doing, our main focus should be on sharing and spreading the word of Jesus Christ. I'm completely open to building those partnerships with the other churches in town, because I want everyone to have their own work because if we're all working to share Jesus' word, why should we be in competition with each other? It's very counterintuitive, so we all need to come together in the one body of Christ.”
