Each week I write this article called “Lagniappe.” Lagniappe is a French word that means “a little something extra.” It’s like a “baker’s dozen” or something similar.

I’ve been doing this for almost 27 years. You would think I would have run out of subjects by now.

Actually, since the church has grown in size and complexity, I need to write this article more than ever. My weekly Lagniappe article is simply an attempt on my part to keep you informed about happenings at First Baptist Church.

Today I want to write about our church staff structure.

Church pastoral staffs take a variety of forms. Like many areas concerning church governance, there is no precise biblical way to structure a pastoral staff. Large churches do this in different ways.

For several years we have had a structure like this:

Lead Pastor (that’s me)

Senior Staff

Minister of Education (Clif Smith) who oversees the Educational ministry of the church (Bible Fellowship Groups, Discipleship, and the children’s ministries that help children grow in Christ). Those who work with Clif are our three age group ministers (David Rockett–Adults 55+, Bill Boren, Minister to Student Families, and Josh Jordan, Minister to Young Families). Glynn Robinson, Darlene Drivon, and Chris Kroll along with the Children’s Pastor (more about that position coming soon) make up the Education Team

Associate Pastor (Jay Johnston) who oversees the worship ministry and other related areas, including the music ministry of the church with adults, youth, and children. Jason Brooks serves as our Minister of Music and Worship Pastor and Barry Carpenter heads up the Technical staff.

Church Administrator who leads in the financial and business areas of the church. This position is currently vacant (Melinda Robinson fills this position capably). This position oversees the Administrative Assistants, maintenance staff, and the business areas related to the church. Stephen Babin serves in this area as our Facilities Manager.

Associates and Interns

We normally have a number of Associates and Interns who serve for limited times to minister to our community and church.

We do our best to bring all of this together as a team and to meet the needs of the church for pastoral leadership.

These are difficult jobs which require deep commitment and hard work. I thank God for the opportunity to work with all these people. Would you pray fervently for these women and men?