First  Baptist Church is “In the heart of Benton with a heart for all people”.  It is a joy to be the pastor of this church!  There is a loving, caring spirit here & there is a heart for ministry.  I have always taken I Peter 5:1-4 as my philosophy of pastoring.  I am a shepherd responsible for leading the sheep by example.  Part of my calling is to visit & encourage people, witness to the lost & minister to those who are sick.  But my primary calling is to preach the Word of God to the people.  I am a strong believer in “Text-Driven Preaching”.  Simply put, this means that every sermon is based on the Bible—not popular opinion or popular books.  So a text from the Bible “drives” every sermon—the major points should come from that text.  Only the Bible is an infallible guide for our lives.  That is why I believe that the best way to grow people spiritually is to simply feed them the Word of God.  The Holy Spirit does the rest! One of the greatest joys I have is to see people growing in their faith & hungry for more of God’s Word!  At First Baptist Church, you will find down-to-earth folks who will give you a warm welcome.  You will find a great place to worship & serve God.  I look forward to meeting you.