Photo Story: Mike Dixon

Mike Dixon has been the pastor of Albany Missionary Baptist Church for about 25 years or so. I chose to use him as the subject for my photo story because people really only see him for his pastor role unless they know him quite well. I chose to take this opportunity to get a look into his day-to-day life when he’s not behind the pulpit. When he’s not hunting or hiking or preaching, he is sitting in his chair with his dog at his feet, watching a U of O basketball or football game. 

Due to Covid-19, Dixon has been under a lot of stress in the event that he has continuously tried every solution to make it possible for the church to meet. He goes to the building every day and teaches to sets of 10 people for 45 minutes each. He is there from 8am to 7pm every Sunday in order to get through every group of ten people until the church is allowed to meet again in full capacity. 

Mike absolutely loves hunting. He hunts all over the place, mainly Eastern Oregon. About three days out of the week, he takes a heavy pack and his dog Maddie, and goes hiking at the OSU range. This keeps him in shape for his next hunting trip, but it’s also just something he enjoys doing every week. 

Dixon has been trying for YEARS to draw a sheep tag for hunting. He says that his father has been doing the same thing for the majority of his life, but it is super rare to draw a sheep tag and only a couple people get it every year. Dixon and his father have both yet to draw one, but Dixon is hopeful. 

Mike’s wife, Jill, doesn’t usually go on hikes with him, though she does frequently go along on his hunting trips. Mike likes to hunt with his three sons, as well as some old friends from other churches around the state. 

Mike Dixon has three sons that are all married and attend the same church that he pastors at. Two of his sons are preachers. By doing this assignment, I realized that he really isn’t much different in his day to day life compared to when he’s behind the pulpit. He still has the same sense of humor, and he is still the same genuine, respectful guy that you see when he’s behind the pulpit.