New Harmony Church recently welcomed a new pastor to its congregation after the retirement of Pastor David Gidcumb.
Pastor Noah Schlag and his wife Melissa along with their five children – Ella, 11; Emma, 10; Eva, 8; Hudson, 5; and Haddon, 2 have joined our community.
Noah and his family are originally from Southern Illinois.
Pastor Noah succeeds Pastor David Gidcumb, who has pastored New Harmony for the last 31 years. Noah and his family became involved with New Harmony in January 2019, and at that time began his ministry as the Family Pastor. In August 2019, Pastor David and wife, Cathy announced their upcoming retirement within the next year. There was be a one-year transition for the baton to be officially passed from Pastor David to Pastor Noah. The formal handoff happened Aug. 30. The church honored Pastor David and Cathy for their dedication, hard work, and outpouring of love and wisdom with a church picnic celebration at Montauk.
Pastor Noah and Pastor David are no strangers to each other and actually share very deep roots. Noah grew up in Belle Rive, Illinois, a very small, farming community smaller than Salem. Prior to moving to Salem, Pastor David and Cathy lived in the same community as Noah and his family. When Noah was a young child, his parents were very good friends with the Gidcumbs, and all went to the same country church pastored by Reverend John Smith, who later pastored in Salem at Oak Grove Baptist Church.
Noah followed the Lord’s calling for his life and began pastoring at 18 years old. He married his high school sweetheart, Melissa, about 15 years ago. Noah continued pastoring while attending school. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City with a master’s degree in Divinity.
In 2009, Noah went on a mission trip to Africa where he reconnected with Pastor David and also met members of New Harmony Church. Pastor David stayed in contact periodically with Noah after the trip. They discussed the possibility of Noah taking the reigns of leadership after David’s retirement in the coming years. After finishing his degree, Noah and his family moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2018 where he completed a one-year internship. Pastor David asked Noah if he would be willing to move to Salem, which eventually led to transitioning into the role of lead pastor.
“It has been a tremendous experience to follow a pastor that has been at a church for more than three decades” said Pastor Noah. It is almost unheard of for a pastor to be at a church that long. Pastor Noah feels that it has been a seamless transition for the church. New Harmony has continued building momentum versus losing any traction, which is a common occurrence during a leadership change. He observed that the vision of the church is still developing as he wants to get to know the people well and understand the culture. Pastor Noah’s three main goals of the ministry are healthy preaching and teaching; equipping of the saints; and shepherding of the flock.
The Schlags shared that he and his family have greatly appreciated the warm welcome that they have received from the church and the community.
If you haven’t heard Pastor Noah share God’s message, you are welcome to take part in Sunday worship at 9:30 a.m. The services are also live-streamed, if you are not able to make it in person. A service on Wednesday evening is held at 6:30 p.m.
