‘A homecoming of sorts’

When Josh Farver was named pastor at the Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Newton, he was a familiar face to some parishioners.

Farver’s history with church began when it was Zoar Church in rural Newton near the Baxter area. He and his wife Jenny attended the church and he began helping out and leading worship. It was at that time he felt God calling him into ministry.

After his wife finished nursing school, Farver attended Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny.

“(We were) just trying to figure out where God would have us go. We ended up in the mission field,” he said.

They spent the next 10 years doing mission work, the past seven years have been spent in Togo, West Africa. They were a part of the hospital ministry while there. Farver was a chaplain with the hospital while his wife worked as a nurse.

“Like anything else, there were some major challenges but it was very rewarding. We were in a third world country, near the Saharan Desert. Kinda had the struggles of the elements, the heat and the snakes but the joy of seeing good health care brought to an area that needed it and the Gospel going out through that, as well,” Farver said.

The Farvers have five children, four in high school and one in elementary school. As they neared the college age and Jenny with dealing with some health issues, the couple decided it was time to look for another opportunity.

“We knew Cornerstone was looking for a pastor and we started talking with them and that opened the door for us to be here,” Farver said. “Having that little bit of history too, with a number of the folks that were still around here. It’s a homecoming of sorts.”

While Farver officially began in June, he started his work with church before then. This year has been a challenging year as people still deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As Farver began to transition as the church’s pastor, the church was not meeting for services, so he worked with the interim pastor to put recordings together and post them online.

“We were fortunate enough to be meeting together when I actually started and that has been good,” Farver said. “I think for the most part we have been able to meet and do things somewhat as we normally would.”

Not all church members are attending services yet, trying to remain cautious with the health crisis. Farver said they have been encouraging people to attend as they feel comfortable.

Farver’s ties to the community extend even further. His parents, Carol and the late Tom Farver, were both Newton High School graduates. His father’s job with the United States Forest Service took the family to Wyoming where Farver grew up.

After high school, his family returned to Iowa until his work with the ministry took him on a new path. Farver describes his mother as a “proud Newtonian” and is glad to have them back home.

As people are still working to navigate the “new normal” of 2020, many Iowans were dealt another wildcard with the derecho blew through last month.

Farver said thankfully the church and his home had minimal damage. However, there were several church members impacted by the storm.

“Everyone came together and helped each other out which was great to see,” Farver said.

Contact Pam Pratt at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or pampratt@newtondailynews.com