DANVILLE — As pastor of the Central Christian Church, Don Vanzant is leader of a large congregation in a huge, beautiful building.

At the end of June, he will give that up to embark on a new mission in Lexington, Ky., with … nothing. No building, no staff, no salary.

“Nothing. Just me,” he said.

Although he has some concerns about starting a church from scratch at age 55, he knows it’s something he has to do.

“At this juncture in my life, I have to do this to keep peace with myself,” he said.

Vanzant isn’t the only pastor making life changes this summer. Four other church leaders will begin new chapters, starting July 1.

They are: Jerry Short with First Church of the Nazarene, Reginald Buckley with Second Baptist Church, John Prather with First United Methodist Church and Dave Garver with Ridgeview Baptist Church.

Garver, who was featured in a Commercial-News story last month, is retiring after 25 years, but will remain in Danville.

Short is recovering from surgery, and will be interviewed next month. He is retiring after 47 years as a pastor, including 20 years at the First Church of the Nazarene.

He will take a part-time position as associate district superintendent for the Chicago Central District. Short will live in Catlin.

A CALLING

Vanzant has been at Central Christian — a Disciples of Christ denomination — for five years, overseeing about 500 members.

Disciples of Christ has a mission to launch 1,000 churches in 20 years. Since 2000, 460 have opened.

“I set out to do this five years ago, but I just didn’t have faith it would work out,” he said. “I think God’s told me, ‘you need to do this.’”

Feeling that message in his heart, Vanzant decided to return to Lexington — where he lived before coming to Danville — to plant a new church on the east side of town.

He will start a church with no assets — just the help of his wife of 36 years, Nina; advice from a coach; and his own resources.

The church’s tentative name is The Gathering.

He will knock on doors and post flyers. The group will meet in his living room at first.

Vanzant is a bit concerned about the stress and the amount of work required.

Still, he and Nina are very people-oriented, he said, and they will enjoy that aspect.

Also, he said of new churches, “Those are the most successful because the pastor puts his life into it.”

Vanzant is looking forward to being near his three grown children, who live in the Lexington area.

However, he’s going to miss Danville’s pace of life, his close friends and the Central Christian congregation, adding, “There’s a lot of energy in this church.”

During his tenure, he brought in the idea of Bethlehem Live at Christmas and added a contemporary service at 11 a.m.

He also encouraged mission work. The members have taken eight trips in five years, including two out of the country.

“That’s become part of the church’s personality,” he said.

One of the first things he’ll do in Kentucky is organize a mission trip.

In addition, he started the church’s Web site; in his new job, he’ll get a Web site set up right way.

A native of Taylorville, Vanzant was a farmer 12 years before joining the ministry.

A SLOWER PACE

Prather, who came to First United Methodist almost five years ago, has been assigned pastor of the Grace United Methodist Church in Nashville, Ill.

The 4,800-person town is the county seat of Washington County, about 40 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Prather, a native of southern Illinois, has a farm in Johnson County and has been a pastor 18 years.

“I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said.

One of his main missions during the past five years was to help his congregation through the changes among the local Methodist churches. Out of a five-church cooperative, three merged to form a new church.

“It was gratifying bringing them through a contentious period and watching three separate churches truly come together and watching new friendships form,” he said.

Another accomplishment, he said, was “helping the folks find their own ministry in the community through Fair Hope (assistance program).”

Referring to the congregation, he said, “This is a wonderful group of people. I will miss these folks.”

He and his wife, Joy, will miss Danville and its offerings. Joy has been attending Danville Area Community College.

“We enjoyed Danville very much,” he said.

HOME AGAIN

Buckley has been pastor at Second Baptist Church for nine years. He will return to his hometown of Jackson, Miss., where he will serve as executive pastor of the Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.

His father, Horace, is senior pastor of the church.

Last year, he and his father talked about such a change, and, he added, “The Lord opened that door.”

His wife, Lecretia, will teach math education at Jackson State University. They have two children.

When he arrived in Danville, Buckley was 25 years old and married for one year. The Second Baptist members quickly became his family.

The highlight of his career was seeing a new building take shape. The 11,000-square-foot structure, which opened March 2006, is located behind the old church at Oak and Townsend.

Another highlight was watching the growth of the church and the young families becoming part of the ministry. The congregation was mostly made up of senior citizens nine years ago.

“To see young families with children become part of the ministry — that was great,” he said.

Although Danville is a small city, it has a lot of good qualities, he said.

“We’ll miss the relationships; we’ll miss the friendships; we’ll miss the city of Danville,” he said.

But, he added, “We are excited about where the Lord is taking us. We’re going home.”