Staff photo / Bob Coupland Champion Christian Church Disciples of Christ has a new pastor as the Rev. Vanessa Bostick, right, was installed recently by the Rev. Allen Harris, regional pastor and president of the Christian Church of Ohio.

CHAMPION — The Rev. Vanessa Bostick has been named the new pastor of Champion Christian Church Disciples of Christ.

Bostick, of Warren, was officially installed at a special service Nov. 16 by the Rev. Allen Harris, who serves as the regional pastor and president of the Christian Church of Ohio.

Bostick started at the church this fall and said she was impressed by the congregation and what they do for the community.

“This group does phenomenal outreach.Through the food ministry they have here, last month they fed over 100 families a Thanksgiving meal. Everything they do here is about outreach and that is a blessing,” Bostick said.

She said she had a calling to the ministry field as a youth but back then there were very few female clergy and she thought she would have to become a nun. Bostick said she spoke to a pastor who was a friend of her mother about being a nun in the future but when she heard what was not allowed, she decided it was not for her.

“I just kept going to church and was always part of the youth group. I wanted to go to seminary and truly be a minister of evangelism in women’s ministries,” Bostick said.

Bostick graduated from Phillips Theological in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She said after getting her education, doors began to open to her.

Bostick was born in Odessa, Texas and grew up in Tyler, Texas. She then headed north, serving four years at a church in Massachusetts and later went to serve churches in Georgia, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

“I did a lot of serving as an interim pastor because I loved to travel,” Bostick said.

She said she will retire from the ministry at the Champion church.

“When I read the profile of this church, I was impressed by the church’s outreach. This church has not had a permanent pastor for five years. They wanted to keep the church doors open and be the church for Christ,” Bostick said.

She said plans at the church are to start an unchurched / recovery worship service in March to reach those who have not attended services and also lead a year-long in-depth Bible study based on the television show “The Chosen.”

In addition to Harris who did the installation, the Rev. Ken Hopkins, former church pastor, took part in Bostick’s installation.