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BELPRE - Matthew Haynie wants to challenge people while bringing them closer to God.

Haynie, 30, who was recently hired as the evangelist at the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Belpre, has been preaching to its congregation since April. Haynie succeeds Evangelist Don Seevers, who served the church for 30 years and retired last fall. Haynie comes to Belpre with his family, wife Estrella, son Uriah, and daughter Mariah.

Haynie describes himself as a dynamic minister who preaches the biblical Gospel only.

''I know that the Gospel is the only thing on earth that has the power to save humanity,'' he said. ''I will preach the Bible no matter what or who stands in my way. I will call Bible things by Bible names and where the Bible is silent then so shall I be silent.

''I will also step on my own toes as much as I step on yours and you will see me grow spiritually as I struggle to bring messages that will cause you to grow as well in your walk with God.''

Haynie grew up in the Church of Christ in Indianola, Iowa where his father, Tim, was a preacher. Haynie has followed in a long line of ministers in his family, including his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

''There are preachers in my family going back to the 1800s,'' he said. ''I was homeschooled and was taught by my mother (Jeannette) in all subjects, but the Bible and that was my dad's realm.

''My dad taught me from the age of six how to preach and how to study and how to memorize. I do not have a four-year-degree, but I do have 24 years of education on church history and the Bible.''

Haynie was raised in the nearby town of Creston, Iowa, for close to eight years and then when he turned 16 he graduated and went to Midwestern School of Evangelism until he was 18. He then ran off and joined the U.S. Army to see the world.

''It wasn't till the death of my first born son that I realized that God had a plan for my life and I was running away from that plan like Jonah ran away from Nineveh,'' he said. ''Now I am doing what I love to do and what God wants for me to do and that is preach.''

Haynie was one of several applicants being looked at by the church leadership. The candidates went through an interview process with the elders. Once they found one who met the church leadership's requirements, they got to come in and preach a trial sermon. The elders presented their candidate to the congregation who made a vote of confidence in the elder's choice.

''I really appreciated the process of hiring a preacher that the elders and deacons were going through,'' he said. ''I also liked that not everyone was related to each other so it wasn't a 'family run' church but a spiritually ran church that was set up as it was in the New Testament.''

Haynie is always nervous when starting new church work because people are different all over.

''But that is where the people's sense of humor comes into play,'' he said. ''They made the transition easier for my wife and I. We were able to laugh and have fun and enjoy the fellowship that exists here.

''I also know that the previous minister made it extremely easy for me as well. He let the church know that there would be some changes being made with a new minister and to accept and embrace these changes.''

Haynie puts people to task in their spiritual growth, how they hold to their beliefs and challenge people's notions of what they expect from their national leaders.

''In Hebrews 12:14 we are commanded by Paul to 'pursue peace with all men and holiness, without which no man will see God,''' he said. ''We say that the church should remain out of politics, although when we say that we find ourselves ignorant of the fact that our founding fathers created a form of government where the church was encouraged if not commanded to be involved.

''No one checks voting records anymore and the church should be handing those out for people to look at and encourage people to vote morals first, but the church is too afraid of offending someone politically.''

Over the coming months Haynie wants to do a number of things, starting this October with a new method of preaching that isn't seen very often. The messages will be theme based and there will be props set up on the stage to more effectively convey the thought of the message. He is also planning to conduct small-group Bible studies in people's homes, sending postcards out and inviting people to come to the church, setting up a website and more.

''There is a lot of other ideas that we are looking at and I am excited for the future of this church,'' he said.