Support Staff

The Elders

Tom Smith has served as an elder and pastor of Silverton First Baptist since April 2008. Prior to that, he served churches in Oregon as youth pastor and interim senior pastor. He also spent eighteen years as a missionary in a Muslim village in Kenya. His favorite reads are books on spiritual life and leadership. Besides the usual sports, he also enjoys disc golf and unicycling. Tom is married to Sherie and they have three children.

Jack Holt has a background in business and pharmacy. He is a gifted multi-tasker and has the ability to move easily from family, to church, to business concerns. At church he leads a LifeGroup and is the current chairman of the elder board. Fair-minded and objective, he is calm under pressure and remains optimistic. Jack is married to Lori and they have three children.

 

Keith Baldwin has a background in forest management. He worked with subsistence farmers in Guatemala for two years. He enjoys helping in the church’s community garden, outdoor activities and reading. Keith values listening to understand and growing in faith. He is married to Juli and they have two children.

JD Winters has been married to his wife Crystal since 2002 and they have four sons and one daughter. As a family they enjoy going to the kids sporting events, camping, fishing, movies and books. They strive to “do ministry” as a family and to include the kids in the life of the church in ways that engage and challenge them.

Stephen Grady and wife Katie have been married for 15 years. Stephen gave his life to the Lord at a small midwestern gas station as a child and has been on this journey of growing in submission to and love for Jesus since then! Stephen is excited to continue this journey with our expression of Christ’s body here at Silverton First Baptist as we seek and follow the Lord and grow in our knowledge of His love. In their free time Stephen, Katie, Jonathan and Keziah enjoy hiking, gardening and reading as a family.

Bruce Kingwell and wife Julia have been married 50 years, and they have 2 adult daughters and 8 grandchildren. The short version of Bruce’s testimony is: “I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 31 years old. For many years, I struggled with the idea that I had to work toward becoming good enough to be a Christian until the day Jesus revealed to me that He wanted me to come to Him just as I am.” From that day forward, Bruce has known Jesus is the One True God and that the Bible, without question, is the Truth of God. He hopes his position as elder will help to support and uplift our church’s role in furthering Christ’s kingdom.

Raoul Robles and wife Lynda will celebrate 60 years of marriage this August 2023. They have two sons, four grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. Raoul confessed Christ as Savior on July 25, 1963. After several years of marketing for Hughes Aircraft Co., Raoul was called to the pastorate and served in pastoral ministry from 1983 until he retired in 2019. He and Lynda live in Keizer. He prays that his years of ministry will be a complement to that of the elder team.

Full-time ministry staff

Pastor Tom Smith  In addition to his responsibilities as an elder, Tom serves as senior pastor of Silverton First Baptist. His primary spiritual gifts are preaching and exhortation. He strives to present timeless biblical truth in new ways to encourage and inspire life change in the listeners. Married to Sherie since 1984, they have three daughters. As a family, they depend on God’s grace for daily progress as they follow Jesus by faith.

Pastor JD Winters JD joined the staff at Silverton First Baptist in the fall of 2021 as the Pastor of Missional Alignment. His desire is to see the church help followers of Jesus grow in faithful discipleship and to make new disciples by engaging the community with the hope of Jesus. He previously served as the Family Pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Lincoln City, Oregon. JD has been married to his wife Crystal since 2002 and they have four sons and one daughter. As a family they enjoy going to the kids sporting events, camping, fishing, movies and books. They strive to “do ministry” as a family and to include the kids in the life of the church in ways that engage and challenge them.

Part-time staff

AJ Stoddard – Office Manager.   She is responsible for scheduling the church calendar, updating the weekly worship folder, updating news items on the website, and keeping the office running smoothly. Welcoming drop-in visitors, replying to emails, and answering the phone is done with a cheerful and pleasant attitude.

Mary Neldner serves the church in the role of Treasurer

Richard Freeman serves the church in the role of Administrative / Pastoral Assistant