LIFE VERSE
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness". Psalms 17:15
EDUCATION
Lindale High School, Lindale, TX - 1962
Tyler Junior College, Tyler, TX - 1962-1964
Texas A&M University – Commerce, TX - 1966 Bachelor of Science
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX - 1969, Master of Divinity
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX - 1999, Doctor of Ministry
MINISTRY EXPERIENCE
Pastor, Hopewell Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas - 1964-1967
Pastor, Linglevile Baptist Church, Lingleville, Texas - 1968-1969
Baptist Student Ministry Director/Bible Instructor, Navarro Junior College/Trinity Valley Junior College, Texas - 1969-1973
Baptist Student Ministry Director, Texas A & M University - 1973-1980
Pastor, Parkway Baptist Church, St. Louis, Missouri - 1980-1982
Minister of World Missions and Discipleship, Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas - 1982-1992
Pastor, Southside Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas - 1992-1997
Discipleship and Family Life Conference Speaker, Ron Wells Discipleship Ministries, Lindale, Texas - 1997-present
Director, Centrepoint Ministries, Tyler, Texas - 2000-present
INTERIM PASTORATES
First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas - 1998-1999
Calvary Baptist Church, Garland, Texas - 1999-2000
First Baptist Church, Van, Texas - 2000-2001
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas - 2002-present
BIOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW
I received Christ at 12 years of age in First Baptist Church, Lindale. I seriously learned about the Christian walk while involved with the BSM and became a disciple of His as a freshman at Tyler Junior College. I committed my life to serving Christ in full time ministry. I was a varsity football player and helped start Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Tyler Junior College. I met and married Beth Johnson while she was a student at TWU College of Nursing and I was attending SWBTS. We have been married for more than 30 years and have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. God turned my heart toward a call to ministry in student work after graduation from SWBTS. For 11 years I had the privilege of teaching and disciplining many college students across the United States. Missions and discipleship have been essential parts of God’s call in our lives whether in student work, pastoring or on a church staff. During my 10 years on staff at Green Acres Baptist Church we began 9 missions in Belize, missions in Nicaragua and Mexico and local missions in Tyler with the Koreans, Hispanics and Blacks. Beth and I also did long-term interims with Sylvania and Southside Baptist Churches in Tyler to develop them from a mission status to healthy growing churches. We later pastored 5 years at Southside Baptist Church growing from 150 to 350 in Sunday School. At this point we began to feel a strong call to ministry to families. I began pursuing a Doctor of Ministry Degree at SWBTS in August of 1997 and graduated in May 1999. My project was “Developing a Model for Mentoring Men to Be Spiritual Leaders in Their Families.” My wife and I trained as consultants for Hope for Home with Texas Baptists. We also will be presenting to churches “Family to Family,” a program sponsored by the North American Mission Board. We have opened an office in Tyler called “Centrepoint Ministries” to help develop lay-led family/marriage mentoring teams in churches. I am currently traveling to churches and universities throughout the state and country conducting family-centered revivals, marriage retreats, spiritual-growth retreats, and single/collegiate conferences. During the past four years I have also been in long-term interims at First Baptist Farmersville, Calvary Baptist in Garland, First Baptist, Van and, currently, at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. These interims are part of a personal mission to assist churches to maintain healthy ministry and outreach. These churches have continued to prosper and grow spiritually through these interim times and have developed discipleship ministries and mission outreach.
