Huntly Memorial Baptist Church in Niles will welcome a new pastor during an installation ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at the church, which is located at 1139 Huntly Road.

Pastor Dale Welling, of New Troy, said one of his main areas of focus would be on developing different ministries to serve the community.

“We are very blessed and I am very grateful I have found a place where everyone wants to help out with the community,” he said. “This is a dream come true because the people of Huntly are extraordinary.”

A Michiana native, Welling attended First Baptist Church of South Bend in his younger years. He recalls sneaking away from his pre-school class to listen to the church pastor speak. He would then mimic the pastor’s message in the sanctuary after everyone had left.

From there, Welling began his ministry on the youth leadership team at Clay United Methodist Church where he said he was able to develop programming skills that kept with Bible traditions while at the same time presenting ideas in a way that spoke to youth.

Prior to joining Huntly, Welling worked for five years as a part-time pastor for United Methodist Churches in Modoc and Huntsville, Indiana.

He will lead services at 10:45 a.m. each Sunday.

He holds office hours there from 6 to 8 p.m. each Wednesday.