Preacher Derek McNamara and his family bring an worldwide perspective plus a love for America to their Natchez church family.

McNamara will give his first sermon as the new minister at Church of Christ at Covington at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

McNamara is a native of Ireland who also lived in South Africa, England and Germany before he moved to the United States to attend school.

But a recent visit to Natchez helped him realize God wanted him to serve the Natchez congregation.

He came to Natchez about two months ago and &uot;fell in love with the congregation and the city,&uot; he said.

Since serving God has led McNamara to travel, each member of his family was born in a different country.

McNamara, who worked five years as an electrician, met his wife, Irene, in South Africa after moving there to attend a Church of Christ college when he was 21 years old.

Their 9-year-old son, Luke, was born in Louisiana, and their 6-year-old daughter, Charis, was born in England.

The couple first moved to the United States in 1989 so McNamara could attend a Church of Christ college in Monroe, La. The school had a program that instructed preachers on how to minister to military personnel.

That training led the couple to move back to Europe to work at churches in Brandon, England, and Kaiserslautern, Germany.

These churches were mostly comprised of U.S. military families stationed oversees.

McNamara said he and his wife believe God opened the doors for them to serve in that capacity.

&uot;It was just a ministry we loved tremendously,&uot; McNamara said, adding it also could be &uot;heart-wrenching&uot; because church members had to move every three to four years.

The family came back to the United States in 1999, where McNamara earned another master’s degree at Lubbock Christian University, in Lubbock, Texas. He eventually plans to earn his Ph.D. from Lubbock Christian University.

Now McNamara said the family is ready to &uot;put down roots,&uot; and they think Natchez is a good place. In America &uot;there’s more opportunities for people than any (other) country we’ve ever lived in,&uot; McNamara said.

While in Natchez, McNamara said his goal is &uot;to serve the congregation and help the congregation (and community) to see and love Jesus more.&uot;

He is replacing Preacher Dan Huggins, who left to work at a church in Long Beach.

The church has a membership of about 180 people.