Chinese Baptist Church of Greater Hartford

Bio for Pastor Timothy West

Pastor Timothy West believes that a Christian's main goal in life should be to bring glory to the God of the Universe! Even the roles in our family and our vocation are secondary to this priority of God's glory. As a Pastor, Tim tries to know and follow the Lord Jesus in a passionate manner in order to encourage those around him to do the same. Such passion will show the world we are different and will ultimately bring about glory for the God we serve!

Tim is the first to admit that his desire for God has been the product of many years of the Lord's work in his life. For it is God who works in us to will and to act for His good purpose! As Jesus has worked, Tim has been slowly surrendering to Christ's Lordship. Each sinful habit identified and surrendered is yet another area in which Christ can freely work. There is much yet to be done, but being constantly involved in the surrendering process is half the battle!

Tim's life is defined by two births. The first birth was the physical one that took place in southern New Jersey in 1961. He was born to Christian parents who took seriously the command of God to "raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." He spent much of his life in fundamentalist Baptist churches, first in New Jersey and then in Minnesota where he grew up. Tim is very grateful to the Lord that his physical birth was into a family of followers of Jesus.

The second birth was when Tim was born again at the age of thirteen. This is when he put his whole faith and trust in Jesus Christ for his eternal salvation. He was baptized by immersion shortly after. His family and church in Minnesota were instrumental in leading him to Christ, instilling a deep respect and affection for the Bible and providing him opportunities to serve. His being born again accompanied by a God given desire to walk with the Lord led him to a Christian college in Minnesota.

At Northwestern College, Tim was given many additional opportunities to grow in Christ. During his freshman year he felt a firm call of the Lord into vocational ministry. Surrendering to this call has determined his course since then. And though there have been some interesting detours along the path, Tim's main vocation has been ministry. He married the love of his life, Elizabeth, shortly after college and moved to Texas to begin attending Dallas Theological Seminary.

Since completion of a Masters in Biblical Studies from DTS in 1989, Tim has served in three churches. He was the Youth Pastor of First Baptist Church in Spencer, Iowa for three years. His next position was in Fairfield, Connecticut as the Youth Pastor and later the Discipling Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church. He was in Fairfield for six and a half years. Finally, he has been the Associate Pastor for the English Speaking Congregation at CBCGH for just over a year now. His desires for the English Congregation are to see people find new life in Christ and become passionate followers of Jesus.