MP native returns home to pastor First Baptist Church

A Mt. Pleasant Community High School graduate who still holds the school's shot-put record has returned home to pastor First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant.

Steve English, who was born in Mt. Pleasant in 1975, is back and getting to know the community again after several year absence during which he graduated college, got married, finished seminary and dabbled in many different career paths.

English has been back in Mt. Pleasant for two months preaching at First Baptist Church at 100 E. Webster Street and learning about how the congregation is loving and 'servant-hearted.”

'One of the things I've experienced is how much the people here care. It's really contagious,” English said.

After graduating from Mt. Pleasant Community High School, English went to the University of Iowa where he played football, ran track and studied political science. He then moved to Chicago where he felt God reaffirming a call he felt when he was a child - a call to preach.

While on a mission trip to the Czech Republic, English met his wife, where they worked together at an English camp teaching the gospel. They were engaged within four months.

From there, English felt a renewed call to seminary and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. English first felt 'God's hand” on his life as a boy attending Harmony Bible Church in Danville. He was often encouraged to talk about the goodness of God in front of small groups of people, English said.

English's first pastorate was at a church in Eau Claire, Wis., where he preached for two and a half years. He left that church to begin a church plant. Eventually, English took a hiatus from ministry for a little over four years and taught special education, coached and moonlighted as a juvenile detention jailer.

English said he, his wife JoKasta English and their five children wound up back in Mt. Pleasant after First Baptist Church kept popping up on their radar. With English's parents still living in southeastern Iowa, it was the perfect opportunity for the grandchildren to get to know their grandparents better.

English's Panther football helmet and University of Iowa helmet and jersey are displayed in his office at the church. His shot-put record at MPCHS still stands at 61 feet and 10 1/4 inch. With a history of coaching behind him, English hopes to volunteer as a track and football coach here to help another student take his place.

'I would love to see someone break my record,” English said.

Football and track have been a way for English to connect with mentors in his high school and college years and be a mentor to students today.

'For me, the greatest take-away from being a coach and player was the relationships I built with young people,” English said.

Former players of English call him up and as for his advice and letters of recommendation. For one former player, the letters helped get him into West Point.

Not long after that, English received a phone call.

'He told us the story of how God pursued him at West Point and it was such a ‘yay God' moment for me,” English said.

English hopes to see more of those 'yay God” moments within his congregation.

English said there is a freedom in believing in God. That's the beauty of Christmas, he said.

'Jesus gave his life, and there's a lot of value and hope we can live in as believers,” English said.

English especially wants to invest in the youth of his church. The pastor belongs to the whole church and the church belongs to young people, English said.

'They're who we pass the baton to,” he said.

English said his philosophy coming into a new position is to love people, preach the gospel and let Jesus do the math. While other pastors may worry about the size of their congregation, English said that it is 'Christ's church to grow.”

While English and his family settle in to their roots, English asks for patience.

'The crazy thing is a lot of people say, ‘Do you remember me?' and I have to ask their forgiveness,” English said with a smile. 'I've seen a lot of familiar faces, and I've been able to reconnect with people I haven't seen for years. I grew up a small town boy, and I love it here.”