Behind the mask: New pastor of First Baptist Church shares journey to Colfax

COLFAX — Throughout Andy McDaniel’s life, he has been known by many different names — Police Chief McDaniel, dad and the Russian masked wrestler, the Mad Maldovan.

But he hopes to impact the community of Colfax under his newest alias — Pastor Andy.

“The impact I am hoping to have here in Colfax is reaching to people and making them see somebody cares,” the new pastor of the First Baptist Church of Colfax said. “I have lived four life times in 50 years. Being able to use all that experience, good and bad, to talk to somebody, not at them but to them, those are things I try to do. I want to get on their level, whether it is a young person struggling with something, an old person struggling with health or loss of a loved one, someone who is caught in addiction or someone who is struggling with the idea of faith.”

Born and raised in Salters, S.C., small town communities have always been home to the 18-year pastor. He graduated from Western Carolina University and shortly pursued a career in law enforcement. McDaniel served communities near Charleston, S.C. and Atlanta, Ga. as a police officer for about 12 years. To fulfill a childhood dream, the small town kid also worked as a professional wrestler during that time frame.

During his travels, he met a wrestler named Ted “The Million-Dollar Man” Dibiase. After talking with Dibiase one night, McDaniel decided to change his life’s path and accepted the call.

Nearly 18 years later, McDaniel said he has hasn’t looked back.

“I would’ve never dreamed (that I would be a pastor) ... I gave my heart to the Lord and continued to,” McDaniel said. “The more that I saw that unfold, the more I realized that this is what I was supposed to be doing. When I left the road, it was a complete step of faith. I left everything I knew for the last 12 years and I am walking into a whole new ball game. But the more I did, the more I knew. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been a tremendous journey.”

After attending the Covington Theological Seminary, McDaniel obtained a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies and a doctorate in ministry. He pastored in communities ranging from small towns to large cities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Arizona.

According to McDaniel, he and his family were looking for something new after serving a church in South Carolina. McDaniel said he received a phone call from the church, inquiring if he was interested in pastoring in Colfax. After responding positively, McDaniel and his family visited the local church. After meeting with the church patrons, leaders and community and several interviews, the church offered the position to McDaniel and on April 16, McDaniel officially was the new pastor of the First Baptist Church.

“They asked me a million questions about everything. We had a Q&A with the entire congregation,” McDaniel said. “Everything just felt right. There is something special here. There is a really good opportunity here, personally and professionally. I felt like we could really make a difference, and I still do.”

According to McDaniel, he hopes to help the church grow under his leadership. He has been working on crafting a new vision for the church from creating a plan to expand the facility to the reworking the church’s marketing strategies.

He said hopes to increase the online presence of the church. He aims to live stream church services, as well as increase social media work. He said he has also started a blog on the church’s website.

Despite the growth of online communication, the pastor said one of his main tools he plans to use to reach out to the community is one-on-one conversations.

“The experiences I had from my police work, driving around and doing a bunch of different stuff allowed me to relate to people. And not just here is what the bible says, but this is how it applies to real life,” McDaniel said. “Wrestling taught me how to talk to people because I was able to stand in front of a camera or in front of crowd and say these crazy things. Of course then, I had protection of a mask, but it taught me how to project myself.”

McDaniel said he and his wife, Melissa have been enjoying getting to know Colfax. From taking his twin 9-year-old daughters, Jordyn and Jaelyn to the summer programs at the Colfax Public Library to touching up their purchased house in Colfax, McDaniel said he and his family feel right at home in the small town community.

“I want to personable. I want to be your friend. I want to be your pastor. I want to be a person you can trust,” McDaniel said. “I am hoping our time in Colfax is long and prosperous.”

For more information about McDaniel or the First Baptist Church of Colfax, call 515-674-3752, visit fbcolfax.com or find First Baptist Church of Colfax on Facebook.