Pastor John Niehaus was raised in a
Roman Catholic home. Despite being religious, he
had no peace in his heart and questioned the rituals and traditions he
had been taught.
After graduating from
high school, he heard the gospel for the first time
while working at his job in Blue Ash, Ohio. He and
his friends frequented a bar across the street during lunch
and after work. Thelma, a Christian co-worker, quoted verses
to him and his friends about salvation and the
evil of drinking. He and his friends made fun of
Thelma, but he never forgot her witness.
At age 21, he was invited to go to the Tabernacle Gospel Church
by a friend named Judy. Deciding to go, he was
surprised by the preaching and joyful singing. Two
Sundays later, he walked the aisle during the invitation, repented
of his religion and self-righteousness, and called upon
Jesus Christ to save his soul.
After witnessing to his family but to no avail, he determined to
move out of his parents home to continue following God's direction in
his life. The Gospel Tabernacle Church was a
Nazarene church, but Jim Emerson, the associate
pastor, believed Baptistic doctrines and it was he who discipled
Pastor Niehaus. After Jim Emerson past away unexpectedly,
Pastor Niehaus, now 23, left the church and starting attending
Bible Baptist Church in South Lebanon, Ohio. It was there
he met Kim Herrin who had gotten saved as a teenager
and a friendship quickly developed between them.
As their friendship deepened, they courted by going to revival
services. One place they visited was Mt. Hope Baptist Church
for a December 31st “watch-night” service. They got married
in 1978 and joined Mt. Hope Baptist Church where
Wayne Mund was the pastor and ran a Bible school. Over the next four
years, Pastor Niehaus attended Bible school, taught
Sunday school class, and became a deacon. He also started
working in Mt. Hope Christian Academy when it was started
by Brother Mund in 1980.
God blessed Pastor Niehaus and his wife with three
children. In 1985, Brother Wayne Mund resigned the
church to go back to Alabama and start Fishers of
Men Ministries. Under new pastor
Rodger Randall, Pastor Niehaus quit his job at the
United States post office and worked full-time as
school principal and associate pastor. Brother
Randall resigned in 1993, and Pastor Niehaus was unanimously
voted in the following Sunday. Brother John is now Doctor John Niehaus. He got his doctorate from a Christian College in Florida in April.
