New Pastor Appointed for Big Horn Independent Baptist Church

Ron Fanning has been officially asked to serve as the pastor of Big Horn Independent Baptist Church in Worland. Fanning shared that he was invited to preach at the church for two weeks in September 2015, and by December 2015, he was formally asked to continue in the role.

Fanning and his wife, Kit, will be traveling between Thermopolis and Worland for now. “The church would like for my wife and I to be living in Worland,” Fanning said, “but for the time being we will be traveling from Thermopolis to Worland because we haven’t been able to find an appropriate house in Worland.”

Fanning brings a long history of church service. He began his education at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minn., in 1969, where he met his wife and moved back to Cody, his hometown. “In 1978 I felt that the Lord wanted me to finish my degree, which I did in 1979 in Bible education,” he said.

After completing his studies, Fanning taught for seven years at two Christian schools in Cody. In 1987, he moved to Spearfish, S.D., where he served a small Independent First Baptist congregation for 20 years. During his time there, he remodeled and moved the parsonage and added two handicap bathrooms to the building.

Following his tenure in Spearfish, Fanning and his wife moved to Upton, where he volunteered at a church for six years. During that time, he supported his family by driving a semi until they relocated to Thermopolis in 2013.

Fanning and his wife have three children. His oldest son lives in Texas and is a 22-year retiree from the Navy. His daughter is currently in Sheridan, working toward becoming a lifeflight nurse, and his other son resides in Buffalo as a diesel mechanic.

A commissioning service for Fanning will take place at the church on Sunday, followed by a potluck dinner.

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