The Rev. Thom Daubenspeck of Abbe Reformed Church in Clymer is pictured with his dog, Nadia. Daubenspeck came to the Clymer area in 2022 with his wife, Susie. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

CLYMER — The Rev. Thom Daubenspeck came to the Clymer area in 2022 with his wife, Susie, to be the pastor of Abbe Reformed Church.

Before arriving, he knew of Clymer through an old friend.

“We felt God called us to the area, and we knew of Clymer through a former pastor here, John Zwykhiezen,” Daubenspeck said. “We were looking at several churches at the time, some in Washington state and Minnesota and a few others. We felt we were supposed to be here.”

Daubenspeck has served nine churches overall, including Abbe at 595 Clymer-Sherman Road.

“I love to serve people and in the process of doing that folks encouraged me to go into ministry,” he said. “Spiritually, I was first called to be a follower of Jesus and then was called to use my gifts in ministry.”

For Daubenspeck, being a pastor means a lot of different things. He said it can be humbling, a “tremendous” privilege, terrifying and an absolute blast. Mostly, being a pastor means helping people to learn about Jesus.

“I also want to help people grow and mature in knowing Jesus as Lord, which is the discipleship piece,” Daubenspeck said.

He said he sees pastors as being mediators between God and God’s people, and vice versa. Pastors travel with people throughout most of if not their whole lives and help them through where they are at in their lives.

“We journey with people from cradle to grave,” Daubenspeck said. “We are involved in the lives of individuals, couples, and families and are on the front lines — especially in a small church — with where people are in their lives. We journey with them spiritually and emotionally through their ups and downs of life.”

Being a pastor, Daubenspeck said, does not make him any more holy or special than anyone else. He said he is the same as everyone else.

“I am as broken and sinful as anyone else,” he said. “I am not any more deserving or holy. I love God to the best of my ability and I try to love God’s people to the best of my ability, though I do not always do that perfectly.”

For the future, Daubenspeck hopes Abbe Reformed Church will be able to grow spiritually as a congregation and “fall head over heels in love with Jesus.” He hopes that if not at Abbe, that for any local churches, there will be an ability through their love of Jesus to pull back those in the world who do not know Jesus or have strayed or been hurt by the church.

In a chaotic world, Daubenspeck said the church is there to help people find comfort in Jesus.

“Even though there seems to be a lot of fear or angst and chaos and confusion in the world, I hope for people to not turn their backs on Jesus and the church,” Daubenspeck said. “If you seek him you will find him. Then you will discover peace, comfort, love and hope in an upside down world.”