Meet Your Neighbor: Pastor Morter accepts new position in Michigan
PORT CLINTON — One of Port Clinton’s most compassionate pastors has left. On Sept. 3, Pastor Ryan Morter of The Chapel moved with his family of seven back to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Morter accepted a position as pastor of Galilee Baptist Church.
In his years of ministry in Port Clinton, Morter consistently reached outside the church walls to impact the lives of hundreds of people, and before he left, he made his mark on the hearts of a few more when he baptized 10 people in Lake Erie.
“This is my last thing,” Morter said as he stood near the water’s edge at Catawba Island State Park on Aug. 30. “It’s awesome.”
Morter first came to Port Clinton in 2011 and left for one year before returning to become head pastor of Grace Baptist Church in 2015. In 2018, he led the church’s transformation as it ceased to be Grace Baptist and became a campus church of The Chapel in Sandusky. Although the church’s doctrine remained the same, its impact into the community widened, and attendance quadrupled within the first year.
Pastor organized a Valentine's Day Lunch for widows
A few years ago, Morter organized a Valentine’s Lunch for widows so they wouldn’t be alone on the most romantic day of the year. Individuals and organizations from across the community collaborated to provide food, music, gifts and flowers. The event drew dozens of women from around the county and grew bigger every year it was held. When COVID-19 shuttered the event, Morter and other volunteers delivered gifts to widows on Valentine’s Day.
In June, 2020, when the world was in chaos over pandemic disagreements and racial tensions, Morter and Pastor Anton Jackson of Erie Shores Assembly of God organized a community prayer event at the Port Clinton Lighthouse. Clergy from 10 local churches prayed with a crowd of dozens of people.
“We wanted to show some love and unity in the midst of the chaos, and that’s what we’re going to pray for. There’s no agenda here, except to pray,” Morter said at the time.
Morter’s impact has been felt inside The Chapel and throughout Port Clinton, but he says he is most grateful to have been a bystander as God worked in individual lives.
“It’s seeing lives transformed by God in the every day, and that wasn’t me,” he said.
Before leaving, Morter conducted one more lakeside baptism
On Aug. 30, four days before he moved away, Morter stepped into an angry Lake Erie to baptize nine men and one boy who wanted to publicly show their love for Christ. Dark skies released droplets of rain in the moments before the event began.
“We’re going to have a wild time in the wind, but there’s no better place than this right now, with all these people making commitments,” Ryan told the crowd prior to the first baptism.
By the time the first man entered the water with Morter, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining. One by one, he helped them quietly and visibly show the world that their faith is real and resilient. Among them was Jared Cook, who was baptized along with his son, Boston.
“The people in my life are amazing, and a good example of that is when I got baptized,” Cook said the next day. “I didn’t want to do it, and it ended up being one of the most beautiful things in my life.”
After the baptisms, Morter returned home, where he would continue to pack his bags for the next season of ministry. He will serve as the sole pastor in a small rural church, which will be a big change from leading a team of pastors in Port Clinton. Yet he is ready to follow God anywhere.
“I came here single, and now I’m leaving married with five kids,” he said. “It’s always been for the glory of God and for the sake of others, wherever that takes us.”
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Port Clinton's Pastor Morter moves to Michigan
