Collegiate ministry impact provided foundation for church planter Adam Muhtaseb
September 1, 2017
Adam Muhtaseb went to Salisbury University with a dream of eventually going to law school. God changed those aspirations not long after Muhtaseb attended a college Bible study at Allen Memorial Church. Danny Pace, the student pastor, had Bible studies in his home and offered food, and coffee— definitely a draw for college students, Muhtaseb said with an easy laugh.
“For the first time, I heard the Bible explained, verse by verse and I gave my life to Jesus,” Muhtaseb said. “Learning from that study was huge for me,” he said.
Mike McQuitty, then a Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware team strategist for collegiate ministry, became aware of God’s movement in Muhtaseb’s life and he mentored the young man. “He taught me what it means to be a pastor. He challenged me, and I started a college ministry at Salisbury,” Muhtaseb said.
God blessed those efforts abundantly! About 100 students were attending each week. Twelve people came to faith, and he baptized 20 people in one year. “I really had no idea what I was doing. It was all God’s grace,” he said.
McQuitty continued to challenge Muhtaseb. “He told me I needed to preach every week!” Muhtaseb originally shrank from that idea, but McQuitty coached him along.
As Muhtaseb grew in his walk, he felt the call of God on his heart to be a pastor.
“I forsook every other career,” he said, including that old dream of being a lawyer.
He served for a year with Pastor Brian Moss at Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Salisbury, before heading to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He ministered as a church planting resident at Imago Dei Church, in Raleigh, N.C. He graduated from seminary in May 2017.
Now with a core team of 14 from Imago Dei Church, Muhtaseb is back to Baltimore, where he is the church planter of Redemption City Church, Baltimore.
Adam Muhtaseb’s wife, Sherrie, gave birth to their first child, Aiden Sufian, on August 18. “Everything is happening at once,” he exclaimed.
Life is exciting. Muhtaseb isn’t sure where God will take him, but he’s trusting Him and he praises God for His hand in his life, especially his exposure to the Gospel through ministry to college students.
“Imago Dei and Southeastern were pivotal in my growth as a pastor/church planter,” Muhtaseb said. “Collegiate ministry was a major source of development—a foundation.”
