Editor,

Friday, Nov. 16 marked 30 years of faithful service as a pastor at Bible Baptist Church (BBC) Oak Harbor for Robert J. Sargent.

In reflecting upon landing in the United States with his family 30 years ago, Pastor Sargent said, “The Lord sure is amazing!” Pastor Sargent was born in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. At the age of 16 he trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, and shortly thereafter was baptized into the Wangaratta Baptist Church. He acknowledged the call of God upon his life as a 19 year-old college student, entering the Baptist ministry in 1971. In 1988 he and his family moved to the United States to serve as a pastor at Bible Baptist Church alongside Pastor Gary Prisk. Prior to this, Sargent pastored independent Baptist churches in the states of Victoria and Western Australia, and served as president of a Bible college. Sargent became the Senior Pastor at BBC in April of 2009.

Pastor Sargent and his wife, Vicki, have three children, all of whom are happily married and serving the Lord. Their eldest son, Jeremiah, was trained for the ministry locally in Bible Baptist Church, and served as its Senior Pastor from 2006-2009. He also pastored Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas for over eight years, before returning to Oak Harbor. He was recently sent by BBC as a missionary to Fiji, and other island nations of the South Pacific. Pastor Sargent’s son, Joshua, lives in the greater Portland, Oregon area where he works as Controller for Buckeye Pacific, while faithfully serving the Lord in Corridor Baptist Church of Hillsboro. Pastor Sargent’s daughter Jackie is married to Pastor Chris Gable of Lehigh Valley Baptist Church in Emmaus, Pa., where they both faithfully serve.

Fellow pastor Timothy Geist has known Robert Sargent since moving to Whidbey Island via Navy orders in 1995, and considers him an incredible blessing as a pastor, mentor and friend. Member Tom Hopper feels “so very fortunate to be able to learn from someone who is so completely surrendered to God and His Glory.” Member Matt Schenck is thankful for Pastor Sargent’s steadfastness and stand for Truth!

Bible Baptist Church is located three miles south of Oak Harbor on SR-20 at Harns Rd, just across the highway from Rolling Hills. They have Sunday morning and evening worship services, as well as a mid-week meeting Wednesday nights.

Timothy Geist

Oak Harbor