Pastorial Staff
Pastor James R. McComas
Senior Pastor
I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour as a six year old boy on a Friday night of Vacation Bible School in the Summer of 1975 at the Grace Brethern Church in Wooster, Ohio. I was baptized by my Uncle, Dr. Kenny McComas, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Rittman, Ohio in 1976. Sometime in 1977, at the age of eight, I surrendered to the call of God on my life to preach the Gospel. As a third grade boy of nine years old, in a Chapel Service at the Christian School I attended in Wadsworth, Ohio, I preached my first sermon. (It was on Noah and the Ark, and it lasted five minutes. I can't get any of my church members to believe that I EVER preached a message that lasted only five minutes!) God led me to Canaan Free Will Baptist Church (at that time Sterling Free Will Baptist Church) in 1988. I became interim Pastor in November of 1992, and was officially installed as Pastor in January of 1993.
I have certainly not always been what I should have been, but the Lord has been all that He promised He would be, and so much more! I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to service God in some small way, and am thrilled to be the Pastor of such a wonderful group of people that we have at Canaan. I have always said, and I truly feel, that we have the best bunch of folks in the whole wide world!
Travis McKenzie
Associate Pastor
I was born February 5th, 1973 in Mansfield, Ohio. I was born again on July 5th, 1981. I married the love of my life, Melissa on October 24, 1992, I announced the calling into Gods ministry in November of the same year. Melissa and I have two children, Joel Matthew and Rachel Joy. In 1999 we began to pastor the Bethel Free Will Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio. After nearly seven years we resigned from that position. Shortly after, the Lord directed me into missionary work with berea Ministries missionary group to Mexico. I also have been blessed with the privilege of doing evangelistic work and have held two interim pastorates before accepting the assistant pastors position at Canaan Free Will Baptist Chuch in December of 2009.
Ministers in the Church
Rev. Paul Daniels - Canaan Silvers Ministry
Rev. Ralph Griffith - Nursing Home Ministry
Rev. Larry Keener - Discipleship Ministry