Bryan Padgett 04/21/2022

Bryan Padgett, a 2002 graduate in Speech Communications from Oklahoma State University (OSU), shares his experience growing up outside of Waco, Texas as well as his faith background and how he felt called to be a pastor at a young age. He explains why he decided to attend OSU and what the campus and Stillwater were like at the time. He describes his involvement in various traveling ministries after college and how he ended up coming back to Stillwater in 2015 to plant Redeemer Church. Padgett discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the church and the struggle to rely on other church leaders for reliable information related to public health. He describes the safety measures his church implemented and the ways his congregation supported the Stillwater community throughout the pandemic. Padgett expresses his frustration with the many ways churches across the country used their theology and platforms to justify political positions that put vulnerable members at risk.