Welcome to the BRN Family: Pastor Brendan Byham, Faith Community Church Lakeside

Please join us in welcoming Brendan Byham, senior pastor of Faith Community Church Lakeside in McMurry, Pa., to the BRN family! Pastor Brendan comes into this role after seeking a part-time ministry opportunity. He has been serving the church since March 2025.

August 7, 2025
Macala Mays

McMURRAY, Pa., (BRN) – Pastor Brendan Byham got his first taste of ministry by serving at Jefferson Baptist Church in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. Following that ministry experience, he pursued a career in the foundation repair and waterproofing industry as both a sales representative and a service technician.

While working these jobs, he found another avenue for his sales skills by starting a Medicare sales business with his wife, Rhetta. Their Medicare business eventually became successful enough that Brendan was able to look for a part-time ministry opportunity.

The decision to seek a bivocational pastoral position led him to Faith Community Church Lakeside in McMurray, Pennsylvania, which was, at the time, searching for a senior pastor. Byham filled the senior pastor position at Faith Community Church Lakeside in March 2025.

Pastor Brendan Byham started serving as the senior pastor of Faith Community Church Lakeside, McMurray, Pa., in March 2025.

In this new pastoral role, Byham is looking forward to “fostering multi-generational faithfulness to the gospel” as well as “preaching, teaching, counseling and developing ministries that flow from the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“The words of eternal life are the foundation of this process,” said Byham.

Joining Byham in this new ministry endeavor is his wife and their two children: Zipporah, who is almost 3-years-old, and Benaiah, who is six-months-old. Brendan and Rhetta have been married for nine years.

Brendan comes to Faith Community Church Lakeside with an undergrad degree from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and a M.Div from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh.

When he’s not selling insurance or preparing the next Sunday sermon, Byham can be found spending time with his family, weightlifting, or hunting whitetail deer.

How to Pray for Pastor Brendan Byham and his family:

Pray that the Lord would give Pastor Brendan and his family grace to be faithful to the ministry He has set before them
Pray for Pastor Brendan as he leads the congregation of Faith Community Church Lakeside
Pray for Faith Community Church Lakeside as they transition to new leadership
Pray for Faith Community Church Lakeside to be a church that exhibits multi-generational faithfulness to the Gospel

Macala Mays

In 2022, Macala Mays stepped into her current role as Associate Editor of BRN United and Podcast Producer for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey (BRN). Before taking this position, she worked as a contracted Podcast Producer in 2021 and a freelance writer in 2020 for the BRN. During her time with the BRN, Macala Mays has produced three different podcast series, including 50 Stories of Transformation (2021-2022), The #LovePASJ Podcast (2022), and Celebrating Cooperative Missions (2023). She also has written over 60 articles for the BRN and has been nationally published by The Baptist Paper and Baptist Press. She is also a member of the Baptist Communicators Association (BCA). Prior to working with the BRN, Macala interned at the State Capitol of Tennessee in the Publications Division under the office of Secretary of State. She also remotely wrote news for TalkErie, a radio station in Erie, Pa., and previously worked as a News Director/Producer for WJET-TV in Erie, Pa. Macala Mays holds a master of arts in communications from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (EUP) as well as a bachelor of arts in journalism/public relations from EUP. During her graduate years, Macala worked as a Graduate Assistant and helped manage the on-campus radio station. She also served as a managing editor for the university’s newspaper, which led to an interest in music journalism. Macala and her husband, Robbie, live in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where they attend Big Woods Bible Church and Robbie serves as the Associate Pastor of Campus Ministry. Both Robbie and Macala find great joy in discipling and walking alongside college students at Lock Haven University.