About us
Mission and Vision
As a church, we believe that every follower of Jesus should have a regular routine of corporate Worship, Bible Study, Fellowship, and Service. This is summarized in our motto: "Knowing, Loving, Serving Christ... Together."
We are a church with a 5-pointed vision that we hope will help us reach our surrounding community. First Baptist strives to be a "Church at the Heart of the City" known for our Neighborhood Focus, Relational Discipleship, Radical Hospitality, connection with Young Adults, and enthusiasm for Fresh Expressions of Church. To learn more about what that means, we invite you to continue to explore our website and contact us with questions.
Our Beliefs
We believe in the One God Who exists eternally in Three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe in Jesus, the perfect incarnation of God the Son, Who died taking upon Himself our sins, rose again on the third day, and will come again.
We believe all humans are created in the image of God and deeply loved by our Creator. Yet, because of our sinful choices, we are in need of a Savior.
We believe Jesus is that Savior—the Savior of all who will turn from their sin and follow Him.
We believe in the power of God’s Holy Spirit to teach, comfort, enable and transform us.
We believe in the Bible as the trustworthy authority for what we believe and practice.
We believe in the Church as the body of Christ in the world.
We believe in our calling to meet human needs and to encourage others to follow Jesus, both in our community and around the world.
We believe our decisions in this life have eternal consequences.
We further believe that our hope for Heaven comes through faith in Jesus, not our own goodness.
We believe we are to be good stewards of our God-given resources, from our talents to our finances to our planet.
We believe in grace as the heart of the Christian faith.
We also affirm the 1963 version of the Baptist Faith & Message. Neither that nor the above is an all-inclusive statement of our beliefs. To view a more comprehensive summary of our beliefs, a copy of the Baptist Faith & Message, and helpful information about what we believe about sexuality, women in ministry, and racial unity follow the link below.
our MiniSters:
Travis Collins
Senior Pastor
Travis has been Senior Pastor of FBC, Huntsville since the spring of 2016. He served as a missionary in Nigeria and Venezuela. He and his wife, Keri, have three children and a growing number of grandchildren.
Travis Collins
Senior Pastor
Tim Boone
Minister of Missions
Tim came to First Baptist in October of 2022 after serving missions, young adult, and discipleship ministries in congregational settings in Knoxville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of Carson-Newman University and Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.
He and his wife, Miranda, have been married since 2015 and welcomed their first child into their family in early 2022. Tim defines ‘mission’ as the work of “connecting the people of God to the heart of God in the world.” If you would like to know about the many ways First Baptist is connecting to the mission of God and how to get involved, Tim would like to talk to you.
Tim Boone
Minister of Missions
Esther Kim
Associate Minister of Music
Esther has been with FBC since August of 2017. She received her D.M.A. in Organ Performance from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Esther and Hans are the proud parents of Diane and Joy.
Esther Kim
Associate Minister of Music
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Shelley Mills
Associate Minister to Kids & Families
Shelley joined FBC in August of 2020. She has degrees in Christian Leadership and Christian Education, and has served as a children’s minister, second grade teacher, and weekday education program director. Shelley is originally from East Tennessee and when she isn’t chasing children around she loves to be exploring the outdoors with her pups.
Shelley Mills
Associate Minister to Kids & Families
Jud Reasons
Executive Pastor
Jud has been at FBC since August of 2006. Working with our staff and many committees at FBC, Jud finds himself in many meetings. A native of Nashville, Jud is a graduate of Mississippi College and Southern Seminary. His wife Anne is an elementary music educator, and they have two adult children, Blake (married to Sarah) and Kyle (married to Kendall).
Jud Reasons
Executive Pastor
Holly Canup
Minister to Median Adults
An active member of FBC for 20 years, Holly came on staff in November 2016. She has a Social Work degree from Ole Miss and a Masters from Alabama. She and her husband, Dow have 3 teenage sons.
Holly Canup
Minister to Median Adults (Age 40-59)
John Lemons
Minister to Young Adults
John came to FBC in September of 2016 to serve as Minister to Young Adults. Prior to Huntsville, John lived and served in Chattanooga for 11 years and Birmingham for 4 years. He and his wife, Emily, have been married since 2002 and they are the proud parents of 2 wonderful daughters.
John Lemons
Minister to Young Adults (18-39)
Kristin Prasad
Minister to Kids & Families
Kristin joined our staff in January 2019 and brings years of experience and expertise to our Children's Ministry. Kristin and her husband Raj came to us from Richmond, VA. They have three adult children.
Kristin Prasad
Minister to Kids & Families
David Ragsdale
Interim Minister of Music
David Ragsdale
Interim Minister of Music and Worship
Allan Greer
Minister to Experienced Adults
Allan has been on staff at FBC since November of 2021. He has been in the ministry since his graduation from seminary in 1988 and pastored serval churches in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. He and his wife, Nancy, have two grown children, Hunter and Megan.
Allan Greer
Minister to Experienced Adults (60+)
Jamie Mackey
Minister to Students
Effective student ministry rooted in the church should help students to grasp and understand faith as both something they own for themselves and something to be shared with others. Jamie loves that his calling is to minister to and journey with students and their families through adolescence.
Jamie Mackey
Minister to Students (7th-12th Grade)
Micah Walley
Minister of Contemporary Worship
Micah joined the staff at FBC in April 2022. He has been leading worship for the last 20 years, but outside of that is always tinkering around on an instrument or writing a song. When he's not playing music he loves video games and anything outdoors. He's been married to his wife Sarah (a trauma nurse) since 2013 and they have one daughter, Emma Claire.
Micah Walley
Minister of Contemporary Worship
Ministerial Leadership Support:
Debbie Bell
Business Administrator
Our business administrator since 1991, Debbie oversees the maintenance and use of the building. She works together with our trustees to provide a safe and well maintained facility for worship and fellowship. She also oversees the financial, food services, and network administration involved in church life. Debbie is a Huntsville native and graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a degree in Business Administration.
Debbie Bell
Business Administrator
Brian Temple
Media Director
Brian joined us after a nearly 30 year career in broadcasting. As a member of FBC for more than ten years, he's has been involved in the audio/visual ministry almost since he walked in the door. Brian is the middle member of three generations of Temples at FBC - his daughter is Morgan, and his mother is Susan. He's married to his very understanding wife Kara, where they share their home with Bamboo the Wonder Dog and several spoiled parrots.
Brian Temple
Media Director
Our Ministry Resident:
Ethan McVay
Ministry Resident to Students
Ethan joined as the Youth Ministry Resident in August of 2021. He grew up in lower Alabama before graduating from the University of Alabama and Samford University. Ethan is married to Caroline and they enjoy being outdoors or sipping a good cup of coffee.
Ethan McVay
Ministry Resident to Students
Ministerial Support Staff:
Kay Bugg
Asst. to Pastor/Exec. Pastor/Exp. Adults
Facilities Scheduling
Amy Helser
Music & Worship
Michael Kearney
Media Manager
Hallie McDavid
Communications & Engagement
Cindy Thompson
Family Ministries
Angie Yarbrough
Music & Worship
Program Support Staff:
Alison Hoskins
Church Accountant
Kathy Ingram
Heart of the City Kids Director
Pam LaPier
Food Services Director
Judy Lassiter
Reta Tumlin
Accounting Asst./Safekeeping