Rev Lee Banfield is one of twelve amateur bakers taking part in the BBC One show, where the contestants bake a host of dishes for judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
The church leader, from Cornerstone Church in Bromley Cross, Bolton, is the oldest contestant at 67-years-old.
A former builder, he had a change of direction in the mid-1980s when he decided to study theology.
He has worked as a pastor for the past 30 years and is being supported by his two children and four grandchildren.
Marylyn Tonge who runs meetings at Cornerstone Church told the Sunday Telegraph that she thought getting more people into pews was "maybe one of the reasons Lee entered."
She said: "Lovely cakes he makes.
"He makes lots of different things, baked pies and everything."
Deacon at Rev Banfield's church Kevan Nelson said: "He has a captain looking over him, as it were."
He said: "The congregation were very, very surprised, because he's not been allowed to tell anybody."
The 2016 series is expected to feature a host of challenges from new high-tech equipment to baking with floral extracts in Botanicals Week.
13.4 million people tuned in for the GBBO final in 2015.
