Bill Drees, 55, was installed as senior pastor of First Baptist Church, West Columbia, on March 1.
Participating in the installation service of Bill Drees as pastor of First Baptist Church, West Columbia, were (from left) Johnny Rumbough, director of missions, Lexington Baptist Association; Don Bishop, interim pastor; Drees; and Lonnie Shull, pastor emeritus.Drees was director of missions for Kershaw Baptist Association for 10 years before answering a call to the West Columbia congregation.
A native of Mississippi, he received his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University in 1974 and his master of divinity degree in 1980 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1995, Drees received his doctor of ministry degree from Drew University Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J.
From 1988 to 1999, Drees served as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Elgin. Prior to that, he was pastor of Old Saline Baptist Church in Saline, La., from 1982 to 1988. He was ordained in 1980 at Parkview Southern Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan.
Drees is a certified “Blue Hat” leader with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief program. He participated in relief mission trips in connection with Hurricane Katrina in Columbia, Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Don Bishop, interim pastor, Lonnie Shull, pastor emeritus, and Johnny Rumbough, director of missions for Lexington Baptist Association, participated in the installation service.
Drees’ wife, Cathy, teaches first grade at Blaney Elementary School in Elgin. They are the parents of two daughters – Jill, who is married and lives in the area, and Katie, who is a student at Southwestern Baptist Seminary.