Minister loves community

A native Texan with New England roots who found his way to the Ozarks in Arkansas is how Dr. Scott Stewart, new minister at the Pea Ridge and Brightwater Methodist churches, describes himself.

Stewart, his wife, Cynthia, daughter, Georgia Stewart-Perez, son-in-law, Chris, and grandchildren, Rosa, 15 months, and Christopher, 4 weeks, moved to Pea Ridge this summer and began serving the two church congregations the first of July.

An ordained minister for the past 22 years, Stewart earned his associates of art degree from Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, his bachelor's degree from Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas, in sociology and a master's degree and doctorate from Southern Methodist University of Dallas. He graduated from high school in Eustace, Texas.

"We love Pea Ridge!" Stewart said. "It's a wonderful little community. It's a wonderful parsonage."

Stewart said his parents were originally from New Hampshire and his father moved to Texas where he was then born. After he finished his doctorate, he was invited to a New England conference and served in Boston for about four years.

"I had spent the majority of my pastorate in Texas but I wanted to see what Methodism looks like around the country," he said. "After 11 feet of snow, I decided it was time to find my way back."

"We're here at each church working to have more of an outreach to the community," he said. "we want more community involvement. You can look for me at the football games. I love to watch football!"

Stewart said he has both Razorback and Blackhawk gear and is an avid football fan.

"My son-in-law and I are with the volunteer fire department," he said, explaining that they had served on a volunteer fire department in Texas and are working on their certification in Arkansas.

He said he and Perez also love to make hunting knives and go to trade shows to sell them. His daughter goes along to sell jewelry.

His wife, Cynthia, is a "dedicated pastor's wife... she does all the errands," he said.

"We're here to transform lives here at the church," Stewart said. He said AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings are held at the church.

"Here it's quiet! It's not quite rural, but has a rural flavor," Stewart said of Pea Ridge. "I can walk to Walmart. There was only one Sonic in Massachusetts."

"It's not as dense as Boston. We can park anywhere. We can shoot off fireworks on the Fourth of July. There are so many good things here!"

"I can't tell you how much I love being here. I can see raising the grandkids here. It's a great situation!"

"The main thing is that we're presenting the gospel in a real and tangible way. My concentration for my PhD was in evangelism."

"I'm working on my memoirs," he said. Stewart has authored a number of books including "A Mosaic of the Christian Belief," "Three Spheres of Evangelism: Worship, Discipleship and Mission," "Anthology: Essays in Biblical Literature," "The Gospel of Mark: A Bible Study," "Perspectives: Christianity and World Religions," "The Living Water: Cleansing The Ecological Sin" and "The Book of Job: A Bible Study."

For more information about Stewart, see his web page at www.misionalevangelism.net.