‘Walk With the Pastor’ Takes Off

Story by Benia Jennings

Kwesi Gyimah, pastor of the Columbus (Ohio) All Nations church, began “Walk with the Pastor” events in spring of 2022 to incorporate physical activity and interaction outside of the church while discussing spiritual matters. “Our church has potlucks every Sabbath, and during our fellowship, members often use the time to ask me questions related to the sermon or on topics they have been thinking about,” says Gyimah. “I realized there’s a lot that people want to know, but that 25 to 30 minutes from the pulpit or in Sabbath School is sometimes not enough.”

Gyimah says the walking activity has allowed for conversations with members ranging from Seventh-day Adventist doctrine to family life and relationship issues. “One of the conversations that stands out is on the nature of God and His attributes of being all powerful and all-knowing, yet allowing bad things to happen,” he says. “Others have been about relationships with one another and how we treat people.”

According to Gyimah, people are more comfortable asking these types of questions in a social setting than in a church group setting. “I think this platform makes it easy to ask any question, so members look forward to walking with the pastor,” he says. “We meet at the Westerville Sports Complex every other Sunday at 8 a.m., and all are welcome.”