Pastor Rodney II & Brenda Payne

Pastor Rodney Payne II, Youth and Young Adult Pastor of Beaverton SDA church was born in Portsmouth, Ohio to Rodney Payne I (deceased) and Kathleen Payne.  He comes to Beaverton with 10 years of ministerial experience.  Young and charming, he is known for his unique sermons and presents his ideas with strong conviction.  Before every sermon, he always prays, "Lord, less of me and more of you."  This prayer summarizes his role as God's messenger bringing His messages to the congregation.

When asked about his calling to ministry, Pastor Rodney had this to say:

Even when I was about 5 years old and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always tell them "I want to be a preacher."  Later, I was heavily involved in student leadership at Mount Vernon Academy in Ohio.  In hindsight, I think God was already calling me into ministry but I failed to accept it on the basis of what I thought others expected of me.  At the beginning of my third year of college a recruiter asked me, "Why are you not studying to be a minister?"  Immediately I was captured by that question and found myself wrestling with the decision to turn from my studies of optometry to the direction of ministry.  Just before registration day I was praying, crying and struggling with what was probably the biggest decision of my life!  I was listening to music when I heard these lyrics: "Leap of faith without a net makes us want to hedge our bet but waters never part until our feet get wet."  I knew right then that God was asking me to get my feet wet and begin the educational courses towards ministry.  God quickly affirmed in my heart and mind that I was making the right choices. 

Pastor Rodney graduated from Southern College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology with minors in History, Practics and Biblical Languages.  He then graduated from Andrews University with a Masters of Divinity in Theology.  He is currently credentialed by the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventist as a licensed ordained minister. 

One of the highlights of Pastor Rodney's ministry was the privilege of baptizing his father.  Always speaking fondly of him,, Rodney eagerly highlights  the significance of carrying his name as Rodney II.  It broke his heart when his father passed away soon thereafter.  Family has always been priority in his life and he has been a dutiful son to his widowed mother especially after his father's death.  He is always happy when his family comes to visit him and proudly introduces to them to the church family.

Pastor Rodney has made a huge impact on the Beaverton SDA church when he initiated and grew the BYA (Beaverton Young Adult) program.  This program, designed for the 25ish age group, brings the next generation of people together in a positive way and engages them further in the church.  They play a big part in our church and give the church a sparkle with their youthful energy and charm.

Pastor Rodney was recently married to Brenda in the summer of 2009.  When hired, Rodney was a single pastor and the church family was very interested to see their pastor get married.  It was great to see him fall in love with Brenda, though it was a long distance romance.  The church watched as things progressed and his bride-to-be made the decision to move to Beaverton.  Their relationship was blessed by God and one year later were married as the whole church cheered to this event.  If you ask Pastor Rodney how his married life is, he will say "Fantastic" with a huge smile. 

Pastor Rodney enjoys fitness related sports such as running, cycling and strength training.  He has recently found a real interest in sailing and hopes to sail his own boat some day.

Pastor Rodney spoke from his heart when asked what he would like people to know about him:

I enjoy ministry.  I value church family.  I believe that I can indeed have close friends in the church.  I feel most connected with God when I have the honor of preaching to my church family.