Bud Helms did not find his way to parish ministry by accident. He will tell you plainly that God drew him here, and the story behind that simple answer spans decades of formation, faithfulness, and a few unexpected detours along the way.

Bud grew up in the Baptist tradition, where faith was central to family life and a sense of vocational calling took root early. By the time he was ten years old, he sensed that God was calling him to serve the Church in some capacity. That conviction carried him through his studies at Pensacola Christian College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ministerial Studies in 1997, and into five years of full-time work with a Christian nonprofit as a program director, camp evangelist, and promotions coordinator. During that same season, he was actively serving in local church ministry, working with youth and leading adult faith formation.

Life took a different shape in the years that followed. With a growing family and no full-time ministry position available, Bud launched his own business, and what he now calls his “corporate wilderness” journey began in earnest. Over the next two decades, he built and operated a business, helped develop a franchise from the ground up, managed production in logistics, and led teams across multiple departments, all while sharpening the administrative and organizational skills that would eventually serve the Church in ways he had not yet imagined.

In 2016, Bud came home to the Catholic Church. It was a turning point he traces through several graces: a renewed encounter with God after a period of straying, meeting his wife Nancy, whose witness of faithful prayer drew him closer to Christ, and a serious fire at one of their businesses that became an unlikely catalyst for deepening their Catholic faith together. Looking back, Bud sees the hand of Providence in each of those moments, preparing him for exactly the kind of work he is now called to do.

Over the past three years, the Holy Spirit began to make clear to Bud and Nancy that his path was leading back to the Church in a more formal way. He recognized a real need for faithful, competent administrators who could free priests to focus on the ministry of the Gospel, and he felt the call to be one of those people.

Bud brings to Four Parishes One Faith a deep commitment to transparency and humility in the stewardship of parish resources. He believes that the financial gifts parishioners offer are sacred, given from hearts of sacrificial love, and that they deserve to be handled with care, wisdom, and prayerful discernment. He is guided by three questions he returns to often: Does it bring glory to God? Does it promote the mission of winning souls? Does it build up the Body of Christ?

His devotional life is anchored in quiet prayer and a growing love for the Rosary. He is a strong advocate for Marian devotion and the intercessory grace that flows through Our Lady to her children. He also draws on the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 and the Great Commission in Matthew 28, two passages that have long shaped his understanding of what it means to serve.
When he is not at work, Bud and Nancy are most likely somewhere in Wisconsin, following their children and grandchildren to their various events. Together they share the blessing of a blended family of six daughters and one son, along with six grandchildren so far, with more, they hope, on the way.

Bud asks that parishioners pray for him as he begins this new chapter, specifically for humility, charity, and courage. Those three virtues, he believes, are the foundation of everything else.
We are glad he is here.