Bio
Dan grew up in Greenville, SC, in a Christian home fewer than two miles from Bob Jones University where his parents served as staff members for more than three decades. Mercifully saved at the age of four, he was further blessed by the outstanding education he received at Bob Jones (K-5 through graduate school) and by the strong, expository pulpit ministry of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. Following his first year of seminary, he went on the 1999 BJU Australia team under the direction of Dr. and Mrs. George Matzko. While in North Queensland, he was profoundly influenced by the families and ministries of GFA missionaries Tracy Minnick and Wally Jaworski.
Amy grew up in a solid Christian home in Williamson, NY, and attended a sound, Bible preaching church and Christian school. Although Bob Jones University was not well-known in the church and Christian school she attended, Amy was providentially directed to BJU during her senior year of high school. While in college, Amy gained assurance of her salvation, became involved in Mission Prayer Band, and went on the 1995 BJU Mexico Mission Team. Following her graduation with a B.A. in English, Amy stayed at BJU as a graduate assistant and completed a Masters in English education. While considering the pursuit of a degree in linguistics for the purposes of Bible translation, Amy continued at BJU and finished an M.A. in theology during which time she met Dan.
Dan and Amy were married in May of 2001. After Dan finished his seminary class work in 2003, the Bakers went with the 2003 Australia Team in order to explore the possibility of future ministry Down Under.
The Lord used the need for more ministers of the Gospel along with the advice and invitation of Tracy Minnick to direct them back to North Queensland to assist the Minnicks and Jaworskis in equipping Australian pastors.
Since the 2003 mission trip, the Lord has blessed the Bakers with three children, Josh (2005), Emma (2007), and Genevieve (2013). He has also enabled Dan to finish his dissertation (2007) and has given him practical ministry experience in a two-year church internship (2003-2005) and as a staff member at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church (2003-2011).
The Bakers arrived in northeastern Australia in December 2016 and spent 18 valuable months learning rural ministry in a town of about 1,300 people. In July of 2018, they moved to Cairns, Queensland—a city of about 150,000 that serves as a multi-national regional hub for the northeast corner of Australia. Dan and Amy serve in a team context in an established local church with members and regular attendees from New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, England, South Africa, the U.S., PNG, and various Pacific islands. While the Bakers share the load of preaching, evangelism, personal discipleship, counseling, and Ladies Bible studies with their teammates, they particularly focus on Bible institute classes and leadership development. Because their team is already taking steps to plant another church on the other side of Cairns, the Bakers see the immediate necessity of training up Australian spiritual leadership per 2 Timothy 2:2 for both the mother and the daughter churches.