BADGER – The new pastor at Badger Lutheran Church spent three years living in Guam before he began pastoring churches in the U.S.

But he wasn’t there on a religious trip, or as a missionary. Before being called to the ministry, the Rev. Scott Meier worked as a professional entomologist – studying insects.

In high school he never thought of being a pastor, Meier said.

“No, my greatest interest was in biology,” he said. “I loved going out to Kelso prairie and kicking around sticks and finding bugs when I was a kid.”

He got a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wartburg College, and a master’s degree in entomology from Oklahoma State University.

“Insect research took me from Iowa to Oklahoma to the island of Guam. I lived in Guam for three years,” Meier said.

While on that tropical island, Meier’s life turned in a new direction.

“Guam is also where God got hold of my life, where I felt a call to go into the ministry, and I was encouraged by my church family in the Lutheran church in Guam,” he said. “It was a small family congregation, about 150 people. Church was very near the beach.”

Meier came back and went to seminary in the Twin Cities for three years, then started his ministry in a country church west of Correctionville.

He was there for six years, then at Spencer for nine years, and about 4 1/2 years in a church in Michigan before being called to Badger.

“This is my first time in 20 years of ministry I’ve been this close to home,” Meier said.

Meier grew up in Manson, and graduated high school there in the class of 1984.

He officially started in Badger on Oct. 20.

Meier has missionary and outreach goals for the church.

“That’s the congregation’s purpose, is to share the gospel and make disciples, and have great fun along the way,” he said. “That looks like equipping the people of the congregation to personally share their own faith experiences with their neighbors, friends and family. And to be prepared to welcome more people as their faith grows.

“We are at an interesting, unprecedented opportunity in history,” he said. “Right now there are 3,000 new people coming to faith in Jesus Christ every hour. … On average there are 72,000 new believers in the world every day.

“Here we have an opportunity, here in Iowa, in Webster County to be part of that movement.”