Bobtown man accepts post as full-time leader of rural church
ALEPPO – The small church known as the Centennial Church of God sits quietly atop a hill along the rural roads in Aleppo, where it has stood as a local landmark for more than 130 years. True, there are many churches throughout Greene County that have been around for many, many years; but what makes this church unique is that its congregation has been without a full-time pastor for the past 13 years.
Until now.
The church recently hired Daniel R. Festog, 35, of Bobtown to serve as its full-time leader. Festog’s unusual and eventful journey to the Aleppo church began with a childhood love for music, a love that ultimately led him on another – and a truly spiritual – path.
Festog grew up having a love for music, playing bass guitar in a band while in Uniontown High School. After graduating in 1990, he sidestepped music to pursue a career in sales. Later in the 1990s, Festog moved to Bobtown when he felt the calling of music once again. He enrolled in the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he learned the skills to become a music producer and engineer.
He earned a degree from the school in April 1999, and soon after he returned to Bobtown with the goal of opening his own recording studio, Silent Wing Audio.
“I initially wanted to create my own little setup so that I could improve my recording and engineering skills,” he said. “I started off just doing some basic recording, then I started working with bands and mixing songs, and then it just took off from there.”
For the next three years, Festog continued to improve the studio, working with a number of groups and individuals wanting to record their music. But it was the studio – and a friendship with another studio owner – that led him on his path to salvation.
“A friend of mine named Darren Lazzari from Belle Vernon had opened up his own recording studio in 1996, and after I got my degree and decided to open my studio I called him asking for advice,” Festog said. “We formed a great friendship, and it was a year later that he began witnessing to me about his faith. The more I listened and the more he witnessed, the more I questioned what my status was with the Lord.”
It was in the spring of 2004 when Festog felt a real sense of conviction in his own faith.
“I got on my knees and prayed for forgiveness, asking God to save me,” he said.
Festog was attending St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Uniontown but he soon found it difficult to travel from Bobtown to the church on a weekly basis, especially during the winter months. Then he discovered that a church located just two blocks from his home was about to celebrate its 65th anniversary. He attended the Bobtown United Methodist Church celebration and then began attending services, and soon he became a member.
“I started going there all the time because I found it was strengthening my relationship with God,” he said.
In February of 2005, Festog felt another calling. He decided to enroll in a lay speaking class at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesburg and one month later he became a licensed lay speaker. Two weeks later, he started speaking on a limited basis at the Bobtown church.
“Through these experiences and through prayer, I found myself becoming more comfortable in the pulpit, speaking to congregations,” he said. “After my first sermon I felt a certain sense of peace come over me. At that moment, I knew what God had planned for me.”
The year 2005 also saw two other major developments in Festog’s life. He enrolled in the Mon Valley Bible Institute, where he is studying to earn an associate of biblical studies degree. And, on Feb. 12, two days before Valentine’s Day, he was preaching at the Bobtown church when he called up his girlfriend, Michelle Urani of Smithfield, and in front of the congregation, he asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes, and they were married in September 2006.
Festog’s path from Bobtown to Aleppo took a major step forward when in June of 2005 he read a newspaper article about a lay pastor named Jake Judy who had begun preaching at the Aleppo Brethren Church. He then called Judy, who told him that there was a group of nearby churches that were in need of a pastor. Several months later, he started preaching from time to time at the Wind Ridge Christian Church on a limited basis.
Then in the summer of 2006, through connections with friends he met John Humble of Waynesburg, who was serving as a lay pastor for the Crabapple Community Church in Wind Ridge. This led to Festog speaking at the church on one occasion. Humble later told members of the Centennial Church of God that they should bring Festog on board as a lay speaker, and on the first Sunday of August 2006 he spoke before the congregation for the first time.
He took turns speaking at both the Bobtown and Aleppo churches, preaching nearly every Sunday. By November he was preaching three Sundays a month in Aleppo and came to admire the church members, who have continued to worship at the church despite not having a full-time pastor for nearly 13 years.
“I am very proud of this congregation,” he said. “This is a terrific, friendly group of folks who have stuck together over the years; they have never abandoned their church or their faith. They are a family, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
The admiration appeared to be mutual; on Jan. 2, the church informed Festog that they wanted him as their full-time pastor.
Shirley Zimmerman, church secretary and longtime member, said the church is happy that Festog is now serving the congregation.
“We are thrilled that he chose to come here and we hope that he will be with us for a long, long time,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve been searching for a new pastor for many years, and sometime we felt like we should give up hope. But with Daniel, it looks like our prayers for a leader have been answered.”
Although it is a long 37 miles from his Bobtown home and through the winding roads of western Greene County to the little church atop an Aleppo hill, Festog said it is a road worth traveling.
“I prayed about this, asking God to close doors in my life that were unnecessary and help show me my purpose,” he said. “And He did just that.”
But don’t think Festog is simply resting in the pulpit. In addition to balancing his marriage, his conservative literal Bible-based ministry and his schoolwork, he is still operating Silent Wing Audio, which he said is thriving. He is also currently seeking independent ordination.
“God is keeping all of it in balance for me,” he said. “It’s all in his hands. He’s given me so much, He’s shown me His plan. As long as he keeps the doors open, I know where I’ll be.”