I was born in Atlanta, Ga. March 10, 1953. My wonderful parents are Dr. John Dwight Nysewander, who served as a Methodist minister in the North Ga. Conference and my mom is Mary Gamble Nysewander. Both of my granddads were Methodist preachers also. They were Bertrand David Nysewander and Dr. B.C. Gamble. I have two brothers, and two sisters, all live here in Georgia. I was born with a sunken chest defect which caused for major surgery in my early childhood days. The doctors had to open up my chest and take out two or three ribs that were pressing against my lungs and heart due to my chest defect. Then they had to place a bar inside my chest to keep my chest from caving into my lungs. Through many prayers I survived and doing well today. I enjoyed being a Preachers Kid (PK). Every 4-5 yrs we would live in a different parsonage and town. I learned much about making friends. Every summer our family would go to Indian Springs Campground in Jackson, Ga. for camp meeting. My parents had a cabin there. Some of my best memories of my childhood days were camp meeting times at Indian Springs. As a teen I became more aware of Gods love as I became involved in different bible/prayer groups and the youth program through our church. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when our church youth group went to see a Billy Graham movie. At the end of the film there was a Minster who got up and ask if anyone would like to accept Christ as their Savior, before I knew it I was walking down towards the front of the theater and asking Christ to be my Savior. In the summer of 1972 I started attending Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga. which is a two year Methodist college, and I majored in social work. In fall semester I got a job in the college library and that’s when my life changed. The librarian introduced me to this young lady who would be working with me. Her name was Debbie Baker from Vero Beach, Fla. Her dad was a banker and her mother was a dean of women at Vero Beach High School. Our relationship was very special and we were known as the Love Story couple on campus. At Andrew Debbie and I joined a Christian Greek organization known as Alpha Omega. In this fraternity we did service projects for the campus and the Cuthbert community. Before graduating I proposed to Debbie. In 1974 I graduated from Andrew along with my sweetheart Debbie. I graduated with an Associate in Arts degree but still was uncertain what kind of career I wanted to go in. Debbie and I had to separate for the summer as we went home to work. Come fall I decided to go to a school in Grand Rapids Michigan called Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music (GRSBM) because I thought I may want to go into some ministerial work. Debbie came back to Ga. to attend Lagrange College in Lagrange Ga. We still love each other and decided we would finish college before we would get married. At GRSBM I took several bible and church planting courses. I got to know my dad’s sister and her family since they lived there in Grand Rapids and her husband was the president of the Bible school. I really enjoyed the two years I was there because of the Christian atmosphere as well as the people on the campus. I became a prayer leader in our mission prayer groups we had and became involved with a Children’s ministry called Child Evangelism fellowship. This involved teaching children’s bible classes in people’s backyards during the summer and in the winter we would move in to people’s living rooms and tell bible stories using flannel boards. In these same years I also became involved with an organization called the Underground Fish. This consisted of going out knocking on doors in the community and witnessing to the people. We would start our conversation by asking them if they would take a quick survey. These surveys consisted of questions about the Christian life. I remember going to a college campus and witnessing to the college students. Before the night was over with, I brought a student to accept Christ. I finished GRSBM in the spring of 1976. I went home to get a job so Debbie and I could get married. I still couldn’t decide what to do for a career, so I went to work at Sewell Manufacturing in Bremen Ga. My brother Mark at the time was a pastor at Temple United Methodist which was only 10 miles from where I worked. Debbie graduated from LaGrange College with a degree in Early Childhood Education. We were married on July 31st 1976 in Vero Beach, Fla. My dad married us. All of my brothers and sisters were married by dad and all of us are still married to the same spouse. On Debbie and I first wedding anniversary we moved into our first home in Temple, Ga. We have been in the same house ever since. We have made our home in Temple and are members of Temple United Methodist Church. In 1986 we adopted a baby girl and called her Sarah Marie Nysewander, who was named after Debbie’s grandmothers. At Temple I felt the Lord calling me into the ministry but not as a pastor. He called me into the Lay Speaking ministry. So I joined the Lay Speaking ministry in 1980. I preached my first sermon at Centerpoint United Methodist Church in the Temple community. In 1995 I became part of a training seminar on outreach led by Rev. Jim Hollis. After feeling a great passion for PEM, and traveling with them for several months, Jim asked me to join the Proactive Evangelism team. So I soon found myself traveling across the country doing events with Jim and his PEM teams. As I look back in my past years in high school and college I can see how God was preparing me for the PEM ministry. I am now working at Assurant Group in Atlanta, GA, where my position is as a printer. I am now part time on the Staff of PEM and the Lord is allowing me to use all my experiences, gifts and skills to his glory through the ministry and mission of PEM. I have met many wonderful people across the nation traveling with PEM and have made many wonderful friends through the ministry. I am sure this is the ministry in which God has called me to serve. | ||||
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About David Nysewander