Pastor Information

Bud Daneker has been working as a pastor since 1982, when he took a part-time job as a youth pastor while he was a junior at Messiah College. He graduated from Messiah in 1983, (BS in Humanities) and the church in which he was working with hired him full-time as pastor. He attended the Evangelical School of Theology and graduated in 1987 (MDiv).

Pastor Bud Daneker also worked as a house painter and ran his own painting business for several years during college and grad school years, keeping himself & several employees capable of paying tuition.

In a perfect world, he said, "I would get paid to hunt, fish, hike and camp. My family looks forward to someday hosting a Superbowl Party in which the Eagles actually win, and I'm currently rebuilding a 1978 Honda Nighthawk motorcycle that sat in somebody's barn for too many years."

Donna Daneker and Bud Daneker have been married since June 1982. They have 3 children: Erin (who attends Messiah College), Buddy (who attends Temple University), and Scott (who attends Allen High School). Donna is actively involved at Horizon Church. She leads the team that plans each of Horizon Church's Sunday services and teaches on the Children's Team. She also works part-time.

He stated he was motivated to help start Horizon Church largely because of his convictions about Christianity and church. These convictions include:

• God is never out-of-date. The Church should be culturally relevant and needs to address the real needs & issues & questions of contemporary people.
• The Bible is the word of God for all of life. While it doesn't have a "Solve-A-Problem" index for every issue we encounter, it provides God's world view for successful living on this planet.
• The Church is one of the few organizations that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet participants. Therefore, we ought to be passionate about, and organized to extend ourselves to impact the world around us. It's not about us.
• Churches need to be led by people of integrity and authenticity. Leaders can never hide the real life they are living.
• Church life & ministry is accomplished by people willing to work on teams. Christians can't function as Lone Rangers. We're a body, each contributing to the life of the church and to the lives of each other.
• Grace defines all of our relationships.
• God is after life-transformation. Every living person is on a journey and God's intervention in that journey doesn't provide just a once-and-done rest stop, but a road map for the rest of the trip. Church life is intended to foster that life transformation. We should be willing to make our church a safe place for those wanting to investigate the claims of Christianity and a refuge for those learning to live the faith.