By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Pastor William Gullick, 48, has traveled a long way from his childhood home on a farm in Myrtle, Miss.

The Haller Lake neighborhood, the site of North Seattle Alliance Church where Gullick has been senior pastor since April, is a far cry from the rural, southern home of his youth.

After a career that has taken him all over the southern United States and finally to the Seattle area, it seems to be the very differences between the South and the Northwest that lead Gullick to call our region home today.

Gullick became a minister at age 19 while studying for his bachelorıs degree at Blue Mountain College, a private Baptist school. He was hired to be the pastor at small church near Myrtle.

At that time he said, many local churches found pastors among the college students, because there were so few pastors in that rural area.

Gullick later moved to Memphis, Tenn., to earn a Masterıs of Divinity degree from Mid-America Baptist Seminary. In Memphis, he met his wife, Diane, on a blind date.

Gullick eventually took over a church in Arkansas, but he realized he wanted to raise his children in an area with a more diverse population. When one of Gullickıs colleagues spoke about the ministry work heıd been doing in the Northwest and about how this region, while more diverse than the South, seemed to have fewer churchgoers, the Gullicks decided to make a major life change.

In 1991, the Gullicks moved to the Puget Sound area so William could become the senior pastor at Boulevard Park Church located just north of Sea-Tac International Airport in unincorporated King County.

Not only did Gullick make a physical move, he also left the Baptist denomination. This was partly because he wanted to minister in the Northwest and partly because of controversies within the Baptist denomination between its liberal and conservative branches. Gullick considered himself to be middle-of-the-road and was eager to move to a more inclusive organization. Boulevard Park Church is not affiliated with a particular denomination.

After establishing a menıs ministry at Boulevard Park and strengthening the churchıs existing ministries, Gullick says he felt he accomplished all he could at the South End church and looked forward to meeting new challenges posed by North Seattle Alliance Church.

Gullick took over as pastor at North Seattle Alliance Church this last April after six months of interviews with the search committee. He replaced Kelvin Gardiner who had moved on to the position of District Superintendent within the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

According to Mike Gerdes, a search committee member, there were dozens of applicants for the senior pastor post from around the around the world. After months of searching the right choice became evident.

³William (Gullick) is very personable and he has a vision of where Seattle is going. He has many goals and hopes for community outreach,² Gerdes said.

North Seattle Alliance Church is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an offshoot of the Presbyterian denomination. Gullick describes the Christian and Missionary Alliance as very inclusive, as is North Seattle Alliance Church, whose Sunday worship services attract more than 400 people from various denominations on a regular basis.

Gullick said one of the things that most attracted him to North Seattle Alliance Church was the congregationıs desire to reach out to the community. While the church already has several strong programs including ministries for women, youth and children, Gullick hopes to institute more activities that attract nearby residents such as musical concerts (performed by congregation members) and possibly a parish nurse ministry to serve the churchıs older neighbors.

Gullick also says that according to census data, the minority population within six miles of his church has increased by 7 percent in the last 10 years and that currently over half the population in that same area is single. Gullick wants his church to be inviting to all ethnic groups as well as singles in the Haller Lake area.

³The church needs to be a place where people can find a family,² Gullick said. ³Every church has got to be careful that it remains relevant.²

North Seattle Alliance Church is located at 2150 N 122nd St.