New pastor looking forward to many years in Libby

Zane Officer, the new pastor at Libby Baptist Church, is looking forward to many years of walking alongside his flock through joyous occasions and difficulty.

“I see my role as really pouring into the people in our church to equip them to see them brought into maturity in their faith,” Officer said. “But then also just being available to meet with people all around us and being able to have conversations about why God has us here and what purpose we might have in life.”

Officer, 31, moved to Libby on Labor Day Weekend with his wife of seven years and four children, all under the age of eight.

Prior to moving to Libby, Officer grew up and worked as a pastor for 2 1/2 years in Dakar, Senegal, and five years in Salt Lake City

As the son of a pilot and retirement consultant, Officer attended church throughout his life, but didn’t know he wanted to pursue the pastorship path until much later in life.

His original plans were to attend law school from the age of 12 right to when he was a senior in college at the University of Utah.

As an underclassman in college, Officer started to become involved in campus ministry through Campus Crusade for Christ, a non-denominational Christian college group. Since there weren’t many upperclassmen involved in the group, Officer stepped up to host Bible studies.

As a college senior, Officer knew that he needed to balance his options. On one hand, law school provided financial security, but on the other, he felt he was being led down another path.

“I felt like God was leading me to teach and be involved in a church setting,” Officer said.

By the time he graduated from college, Officer knew which path he was going to take.

Officer then graduated with a bachelors degree in history and went on to get his masters from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2008.

When moving from Dakar, a large city, to Salt Lake City, a smaller city, Officer said the family felt an unlikely transition.

“We were in a city of millions of people, just culturally-wise everything is very relationship-oriented,” Officer said. “You just get used to knowing everyone in your neighborhood. Even people just making time to stop and talk to people.”

The rush and impersonal feel of a city came back to them. Shortly after, they moved to Libby, where they felt at home and plan to stay for many years.

Since moving to Libby, Officer has helped coach the Youth Soccer program and looks forward to becoming more involved in the community.

“I think that’s what pastoral ministry is about,” Officer said. “Sharing life and walking alongside people through the good times and the hard times.”