Experience

 Ministry Experience

Nik has had the privilege of serving in local churches all over the country, including pastoral ministry in three churches.

Hershey Free Church

Nik has been serving Hershey Free Church as the Executive Pastor since 2017. His primary responsibilities include leading the staff, fostering healthy church ministries, overseeing groups ministry, preaching, managing finances, and serving on the elder team. This opportunity has stretched Nik's leadership skills and given him greater expertise in relational ministry.

Hershey Free is a large church (> 1000 Sunday attendance) nestled in the tourist town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. With a staff of thirty employees, not including teachers in the preschool, monitoring the overall health of the church is no small task. The greatest challenge Nik has faced during his time at HFC has been navigating the turmoil of COVID; in-person worship shut down for three months, attendance dropped, giving tanked, and tensions grew around politics and mitigation. God was faithful, and His promise to use hardship to increase endurance and patience came true.

In January, Nik completed his doctorate's degree in Pastoral Theology. His studies and experience have given him a confidence that God has called him to be a Lead Pastor. The time spent serving HFC sharpened his skills and grew his love for the local church.

Lake Highlands Baptist Church

Nik and Anna began attending Lake Highlands Baptist Church almost immediately after moving to Dallas, Texas. After two years of lay ministry and involvement in the church community, LHBC announced an opening for a Family Pastor. Nik's passion for family discipleship, and his abilities to serve a wide range of ministries, made this an outstanding opportunity. Here, Nik was involved in a wide scope of ministry. Because this was a new position, a cohesive family ministry and a plan for supporting parents in family discipleship was needed. 

While he enjoyed helping launch an Awana program, strengthening the bridge between the church and an afterschool program, and overseeing community events, Nik's greatest accomplishment was forming a relationship between LHBC and the school across the street. This relationship began with handing out coffees to parents on the first day of school, and blossomed into opportunities for church volunteers to teach life skills weekly in the school, hosting teacher conferences, and participating in on-site school functions. 

Christian Life Baptist Church

After finishing college, Nik and Anna were anxious to jump into church ministry. They graduated, married, honeymooned, and moved to Salem, IN all within a three week period. Once the car was unpacked, Nik began his work at the pastor of Christian Life Baptist Church.

CLBC was in a difficult season. Their former pastor had resigned due to poor health and attendance dwindled for years while the elders sought a new minister. Average Sunday attendance was five adults before the Schatz's arrived. They rubbed shoulders in the community, knocked on every door in the city, and engaged the church in local events. Within two years of hard work and heavy prayer, attendance was up to twenty-five and maintained an active youth group and children's ministry. 

After three years of ministry, Nik realized a need for further theological training. Engaging in family discipleship, performing marriage counseling, and the weekly grind of writing sermons caused Nik to realize he needed further ministry training. The decision was made to leave CLBC and seek a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.