Gallatin First Baptist Church has a new pastor leading the congregation in its various church ministries. The Rev. Marty R. Harkey answered the call to head the local Baptist congregation earlier this month and was publicly introduced as the local church’s new minister to those attending the Community Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 22. He preached his first sermon in this capacity last Sunday.
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Marty Harkey, 51, was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1981 at Parkland Baptist Church in Tulsa, OK. His educational background includes undergraduate work at Oklahoma Baptist University, a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from the University of Tulsa, and graduate work on Masters of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Most recently, Bro. Marty served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City for the past four years. He gained extensive experience in management and finances while serving the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City from 2000 to 2005.
The decision to return to the pulpit is a familiar one for Bro. Marty. His first ministry was as an assistant to the pastor and Minister of Youth at the First Baptist Church of Skiatook, OK, over 30 years ago. He also served as a Minister of Music and Youth at Westport Baptist Church in Cleveland, OK, before becoming pastor at Rim Rock Baptist Church in Sands Springs, OK.
Bro. Marty then advanced his education, working concurrently on Bachelors and Masters degrees during 1983-86. He then served as pastor for three Baptist churches in Oklahoma during the next decade, at Hobert, Oklahoma City and Crescent.
The Harkey family is moving from Kansas City to reside in the church parsonage located at 802 West Ogden Street. Marty and his wife Teresa were married on June 4, 1977, and they are the parents of three daughters. Teresa is employed as a school district speech therapist, and the couple’s youngest daughter, Danielle, will continue as an eighth grader at Platte County R-3 School until the end of the school year.
Two older daughters are married. Mrs. Rebecca Finley graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelors of Arts in Studio Art. Their oldest daughter is Dr. Stephanie Shirley who holds a degree in zoology from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Texas.
Gallatin First Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist church congregation with regular worship services each Sunday morning and evening and various other ministries, such as AWANA bible sessions for youth each Wednesday night and "Keenager" meetings for senior adults. The church participates in providing services at the Daviess County Nursing and Rehab Center and in communitywide services coordinated by the Gallatin Ministerial Alliance.