By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The Rev. William Stevenson believes he’ll fit in here among the small congregation of Baptists in this stone church.

He ought to.

Stevenson was chosen from among 300 candidates for the job. Parishioners from the Main Street United Baptist Church combed through his resume, interviewed him and analyzed a specially prepared statement of his beliefs, a seven-page document stating his faith in the Bible as “God’s word.”

“They knew more about me than my wife did,” Stevenson said of the congregation, which voted together this spring to hire the 59-year-old preacher.

So far, it’s a relationship that’s working.

After 18 years as minister in a small town outside Rochester, N.Y., Stevenson said he’s been overwhelmed by the local reception, from the members who welcomed his first sermon at the end of May to his new neighbors at the church parsonage near Bates College.

“People here have a reputation as cold and unfriendly,” the minister said. “I’ve found it to be the opposite.”

They are nicer than he imagined, he said. There’s also gratitude in having a new leader.

The church has endured its share of controversy. In 2003, the membership divided over the former conservative minister, Jon Vermilion. Some people left the church.

Today, it has only 40 members.

“I know the church has a controversial history,” Stevenson said. He said he’ll deal with it by helping members find God, whether that will require added care to his sermons or adding, as he has planned, a weekly men’s Bible study group.

His bottom line, as he puts it, begins with the Bible.

“This is God’s truth for us,” Stevenson said. “This is God’s church.”

That’s the direction the pastor has taken since he graduated from the seminary in 1971. He and his wife, Etta, began 15 years as missionaries in Japan. They helped start churches in several Japanese cities. Then, they moved to upstate New York, where they led a church of 200.

They stayed for 18 years and raised four children, all of whom are grown. One child is a missionary in Africa.

Last fall, Stevenson and his wife began looking for a change. On the Internet, he discovered a notice about the Lewiston church and its desire for a new minister.

Here, he would preach to a small congregation in a city. It seemed right.

“After a while, you find you have done all you can in a place,” said Stevenson, tall and fit with a shock of gray hair. He was looking for a place where he could make a difference.

Perhaps he could help build up this church, he said.

Walking through the empty sanctuary, he marveled at the space, particularly the deep balcony.

Built in 1920, the church was once said to seat as many as 800 people. Today, the entire membership can cluster in the pews down front.

People sit close to the pulpit. And each person who attends earns Stevenson’s attention. But, he is quick to add, he is just a messenger.

“This is God’s word,” he said.