John Lockhart was called to First Baptist Church in August of 1983.  This calling was to his first pastorate.  John was raised in Jackson, Mississippi, and graduated from Mississippi College.  He received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He has studied pastoral care and counseling in Houston through the Pastoral Care Department of Memorial Hermann Hospital System.  He is currently enrolled in the Academy for Spiritual Formation.

"One of the old confessions of faith declares that our chief end is to love God and enjoy Him forever.  I believe that.  We ought to do that as early as we can and for as long as we can."

John and his wife, Sharon, have two sons, Joshua and Joseph, who both live in the Houston area.

If you have any questions or comments for John, he can be reached at John@fbcrichmond.net

Matt Higginbotham was called to First Baptist Church in July of 2006.  Matt obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Christianity and Psychology from Houston Baptist University in 2004.  He is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at the Havard School of Theology.  Matt leads the Student ministry in Bible study and outreach activities, as well as forming programs to strengthen the families within the church.

"My prayer is that I can be like Job in chapter 23 when he states that when he is tried he will come forth as pure gold.  My desire is that my life will be pure and useful to God, so that I can lead others to this end."

Matt and his wife Danyelle met as children and now have three young children of their own: Seth, Sierra, and Hannah.

You can email Matt at matt@fbcrichmond.net

Sandy Bills rejoined our staff as church secretary in February of 2007.  She previously served for 14 years as the director of our Mother's Day Out Program.  She has been a member of First Baptist Church for a total of 20 years.  Sandy recently began working with our Children's Ministry as well.

Sandy has two daughters.  Emily is a student at the University of Colorado.  Aubrey is enrolled in high school.

You can email Sandy at sandy@fbcrichmond.net

Linda Pate joined our staff in January, 2006, as a part-time secretary.   She was born and raised in Louisiana and moved to Houston in 1977, where she worked as a secretary for six years before retiring to raise children.  She has served as our Church Clerk for 14 years and has been a substitute teacher for our Mother's Day Out program.

Linda and her husband, Don, have been members of our church since 1990.  They have two grown children and one grandson.  Kristen is married and lives in San Antonio.  Drew currently attends Baylor Law School.

Email Linda at Linda@fbcrichmond.net

Thana Mitchell has been a member of First Baptist since 1996.  In 1998, she became our Financial Secretary.  She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Sam Houston State University.  As we have grown, Thana has made sure that our financial statements and business relationships are in order.

Thana and her husband J.R. have one grown son and two grandchildren.

Email Thana at Thana@fbcrichmond.net