MOULTRIE — After 12 years of calling Oxford, Ala., home, Pastor Wayne Woods came to Moultrie recently to take the reigns at First Baptist Church.

Woods said his first Sunday as pastor of First Baptist Church was Sunday, May 10. He came here after serving as church pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Oxford since 1997.

Prior to serving at Grace Baptist, Woods said he has lived all over the Southeast and served in a variety of other professions. He was born in New Orleans and moved to Alabama while in the fourth grade. He lived with his grandmother in Wadley, Ala., after his parents separated and graduated from Wadley High School in 1970.

It was during his 10th grade year that Woods said he came to know Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He also felt the Lord was calling him into the ministry but he chose not to pursue it then.

After his high school graduation, Woods said he attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on an ROTC scholarship. He only stayed there one year, however, after he was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and graduated in 1975. Three days after graduation, he was married to his high school sweetheart, June.

The couple moved to Jacksonville, Fla., where Woods served as a Naval pilot for six and a half years, he said. He left the U.S. Navy in 1982 because he had two small children, Stephanie and Brian, and wanted to spend more time with his growing family.

Woods said the family moved from Jacksonville to Laurel, Miss., where he served as an oil field engineer for 18 months. He then went to Greenville, S.C., to work as an engineer for the Michelin Tire Co., but it was in Greenville Woods went back to where God had called him back in high school.

While attending church in Greenville, Woods said he and his family began attending church on a regular basis, which they had not done previously. It was during this time that he felt God’s call to ministry and answered it.

“It became clear to my wife and me the Lord was calling us into vocational ministry,” Woods said.

The family left Greenville in 1985 so Woods could attend seminary in Memphis, Tenn., he said. He pastored his first church, First Baptist, in Alma, Ga., after finishing seminary, and his children grew up in Alma as he served as pastor there.

In 1997, Woods said he moved back to Alabama to become the pastor of Grace Baptist in Oxford. He remained there until earlier this year, when a search committee from First Baptist in Moultrie came in view of a call to bring Woods here. He accepted the call and preached his final sermon at Grace Baptist on May 3.

“Both of us felt like that was God’s will,” Woods said, “and here we are.”

Woods said he is here on a temporary basis as his wife remains in Oxford to complete the sale of their house. He anticipates she will be here on a permanent basis in July, along with his 86-year-old mother. He has truly enjoyed his time in Moultrie and is ready to be here permanently.

“We are excited about being here,” Woods said. “Everyone, inside and outside of the church, has been so gracious. We feel a lot like we’ve come back home now.”

Woods’ vision for the church after only a few weeks on the job is to be a part of helping it become all God has called it to be. He hopes to have it break away from stereotypes and become a place where anyone and everyone would want to call their church home.

“My desire is that we would become a church that wouldn’t be hindered by an image,” Woods said. “I hope everyone coming here would be welcomed and loved.”

Woods said he hopes the church also continues to reach out and become a greater part of the Moultrie community. He wants its members to continue to use the gifts God has given them to reach out to this community, such as the church’s involvement with Stringfellow Elementary School.

“We want to be a church that interacts and connects with the community,” Woods said.

In addition to his love for his family and for people, Woods said he is a big outdoorsman, and he enjoys deer hunting. He owns a motorcycle and likes riding it, and he is a big college football fan, cheering on the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. He and his two children have season tickets for the upcoming football season.

Woods said his wife, June, is a registered nurse currently looking for a position in Moultrie. His daughter, Stephanie, is a nutritional director in the Ware County school system, and lives in Alma with her husband Jason and daughter Savanna. His son, Brian, is an engineer with Honda and lives in Moody, Ala., with his wife, Lana, a kindergarten teacher.