New Pastor Ethan Cromer steps into the pulpit as a familiar face to Mount Home's congregation

Nestled in a corner office room, surrounded by bookshelves filled with religious knowledge, Ethan Cromer reflected on leaving his career as a high school English teacher to pursue ministry. He knew it to be his calling but never guessed he would be preaching to hundreds of people every Sunday.

He became pastor of Mount Home Baptist Church earlier this spring.

Personalized with a Bluey cartoon poster and family photos, Cromer’s office is filled with reminders of his other loves — his wife and children.

Cromer, 30, and his wife, Sara, first came to Burke County when they joined the staff at South Mountain Baptist Camp. Having moved from Cleveland County, their search for a new church home led them to Mount Home in 2017, per a recommendation from a fellow camp staff member.

As fate — or faith — would have it, Mount Home Baptist became more than a place to worship on Sundays.

“I love this church, and I think that God’s fingerprints and his hand have been on this whole thing,” Cromer said. “I didn’t come here to join the staff here. I didn’t come here to become the pastor here. That’s just something that the Lord has worked all of that out.”

At Mount Home, Cromer met the man whose legacy he would work to uphold within the church.

“He visited our home the week after, and he sat on our couch in our living room and met us … he petted our dog,” Cromer said of former Pastor Jerry Gamble, who served the church for 52 years.

Now, Cromer finds himself serving as pastor after the passing of Gamble in July 2023. He was voted in by the congregation on March 9 and officially started on March 30.

Before that, he and his wife ministered in several different areas of the church, including working in the nursery and the kitchen. Cromer served as a deacon, worked as a church staff member, and served as the student pastor. Before graduating from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Cromer also interned with Pastor Gamble.

Mount Home will celebrate its 152nd anniversary in June, and Cromer said his goal is simple — rooted in the second chapter of 1 Corinthians, where Paul describes himself as a plainspoken man who knows Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.

“My prayer is that’s my life work, is to just know Jesus and him crucified and let other people know that,” Cromer said. “And so I think that this church is an extremely loving, welcoming, and supporting church, but we are also dedicated to the gospel message and sharing that with other people.”

Continuing Gamble and his family’s faithful service is important to the new pastor.

“Jerry Gamble pastored this church for a third of its life, which is a really big deal,” Cromer said, “So you know, I kind of look at him as like Moses leading people into the promised land … Obviously, our promised land is different today. Our promised land is heaven, and so Jerry Gamble faithfully led the people at Mount Home towards that promised land, and so I just consider it an honor to follow.”

Cromer said Sunday church attendance ranges from 300 to 400 people, spanning all ages, and he expects the congregation to continue growing.

“It’s just amazing to look around and see all of the kids and all of the old people and all of them interacting together,” Cromer said, “and I think that’s what makes Mount Home feel like home to me is that we have the older generation who so cares about leaving a legacy and a foundation (for the younger generation).”

His children — Ruth, Dottie, and Marshall, ages 6, 5, and 2 years old, respectively — have also grown up in the church.

“I don’t know the plans that the Lord has, but it would be my heart’s desire to stay here and faithfully lead this church until the Lord calls me home,” Cromer said, “... and not to be able to compete with man, but just to be able to be as faithful to the same body of believers as Jerry Gamble was.”