Senior Pastor

Dr. Raymond Edge, being a fifth generation Texan, had Baptist preachers in his family in the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries. His great grandfather, his father and now he have spread the gospel for years in Texas and around the World. in 1969, he was called by God to preach the Gospel while studying German at West Point Military Academy in New York.

Realizing that God had called him to His Army, he resigned West Point and was ordained August 1971. His first pastorate was in Oakhurst Texas where he baptized 13 to the Lord after one month of service. While spending six and a half years in Israel, he completed his Bachelor degree in a double major in Old Testament, Biblical History and a minor in Koine Greek, from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

The Lord was good to him letting him complete his degree entirely in the Hebrew language and graduating with honors. Later, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where his daughter was born as a Seminary kid.

He completed his MABS (Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies) Masters Degree from the Criswell College in Dallas and began his doctorate at The University of Texas, at Austin. While there he taught Hebrew and Greek at the Howard Payne extension in Corpus Christi, Texas. His doctorate was awarded in Hebrew Studies with a thesis on Dead Sea Scrolls and he is presently teaching as an adjunct professor for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at San Antonio. His love for the Lord, for people, for the Church and the Scriptures lead him to join the staff as a minister to the shut-ins and sick at Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. While there he was called by First Baptist Church in Bastrop to be their Senior Pastor in December 1997.

Continuing the tradition through Dr edge and his family, the Lord has blessed First Baptist, under his watch, with souls being saved and lives changed. He is preaching a fresh personal Word from the Lord and his unique insights from his education and personal experiences have kept the Church looking up at the Lord.

Presently the Church has purchased almost 50 acres for future expansion. If you are looking for a place for Children; We are the Church for you. If you are looking for a place for Young Adults; We are the Church for you. If you are looking a place for Senior or Middle Adults; We are the Church for you.

Come Grow with Us; A Place for Everyone in the Family.

Associate Pastor
bill@fbcbastrop.org

Dr. Bill Bullock has been serving First Baptist Church of Bastrop since 1990. The son of a pastor he was greatly influenced by his parents' faithful service in various churches throughout his childhood years. He came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior at age 5. Both his Sunday school teacher and a summer Vacation Bible School were instrumental in leading him to a personal relationship with Christ.

Early in his life he discovered a love for music and began singing in church. At age 14, while attending a summer youth camp, he accepted God's call into ministry. Since that time, he has been actively serving the Lord utilizing both his natural abilities and his spiritual gifts.

Education

Bill graduated from Alpine Christian School in Alpine, Texas in 1977. Following high school he began his studies in music. He received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Corpus Christi State University in 1985. In 1988, he received his Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He has recently received a Doctor of Educational Ministry Degree from Midwestern Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri.

Family

Bill met his wife Valerie while they both served in the singing group "The Concern Singers". Ever since that time they have enjoyed sharing together their passion for singing the gospel message. Valerie has been actively involved in the minitries of First Baptist. She currently serves as one of the congregation's instrumentalists and sings in the choir. After serving as a defense attorney for ten years, she accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney in 2007.

They have been blessed with two sons. Their eldest, James, is serving in the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Command. He serves as an investigator with the 31st Military Police Det (CID) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. James and his wife Tanya blessed them with their first grandchildren, Joshua and Abigail and have since been blessed with Peyton. Bill and Valerie are enjoying the grandchildren as often as possible.

Their youngest son graduated from high school in May 2007 and attended school in Oklahoma where he was trained as a horse farrier. He joined the Army and serves as a Military Police officer and is based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. He is currently deployed to Baghdad.

Ministry

Bill's primary responsibilities include the music ministry, education ministry, administration, and counseling. His passion for relational intimacy with the Lord is evident by his focus in worship. Bill says, "First and foremost in music must be attention to the text. Both old and new songs must be based in the truth of God's Word. There is a need for both the hymns of the faith and the praise and worship songs of our day in everyone's life. We must never elevate style as the source enabling our worship or as the source hindering our worship." The music ministry provides every age group an opportunity to participate in one or more music groups.

Bill also has expressed a passion for the church to be missional. A great portion of his efforts are spent directing the education ministry. Bill says, "A Christian's spiritual life should never be static. My goal personally, and for the First Family, is to be life-long-learners. This goal should translate into continued spiritual maturing that leads to a greater attention to discipleship and evangelism. God has called us to be, so that what He calls us to do can have a positive life impact on those we encounter in our daily living. It is more important that I am known for who I am than what I do." This passion for growth permeates the education ministry by providing learning opportunities for every stage of life. The ultimate goal is for each learner to actively exercise their spiritual gifts and abilities in daily living.

Bill has actively invested in the lives of many individuals through the ministry of counseling. He says, Unfortunately many Christians are suffering from emotional and spiritual bondage that the Lord never intended for them to experience. Many choose to remain in long-term guilt and sadness because they won't trust in God's Word to lead them to be free from those experiences that have brought such turmoil in their life." Bill approaches counselling from a bibical perspective and experiences great joy when individuals choose to experience the freedom found only in obedience to the Word.

Children's Ministry Coordinator
michelle@fbcbastrop.org

I grew-up in a Christian home in Austin, Texas. I became a Christian at the age of 8 and begin serving in the children's ministry in my early teens. I married my husband, Edward "Jay" Neal in 1987. We have three wonderful children, Andrew, Austin and Amanda. We have been members of the First Baptist Church in Bastrop, Texas since 1996.

Children's Ministry has been a vital part of my adult life. I began in the Children's Ministry at First Baptist Church of Bastrop in 1997. I have led the Children's Ministry since 1999 and have been a member of the staff as the Children's Ministry Coordinator since 2002. I also direct the Children's Sunday School, Children's Choir, Kidz Kamp and Autumn Family Fest. I have a great team serving with me in many areas of the Children's Ministry.

It is a blessing and honor to serve the Lord at First Baptist in the Children's Ministry and to serve the children and teach them who Jesus is and to guide them with Bible truth so they, too, will come to know my Savior. Children are so great to work with and they light up when they are being taught the Word of God.

Church Secretary
nancy@fbcbastrop.org

Our God is awesome and it is amazing to look back at how His plan for our lives unfolds. As a small child Nancy spent hours playing with paper dolls, cutting out paper clothes. From age 8 to 12 Nancy was the 'secretary' for the Girls Auxiliary during the Wednesday night meetings, and worked as the secretary for the Camp Fire Girls. Nancy played with typewriters and adding machines on the rare Saturdays that her mother had to work. She also worked as a student helper in the elementary and junior high school offices. A high school bookkeeping teacher taught her all kinds of short cuts for doing mail-outs, how to fold multiple sheets of paper, opening groups of envelopes, fanning envelopes for putting on labels or return address stamps.

In 1977, she was asked to help her home church as the part-time child care center secretary / bookkeeper with more and more responsibilities added. By 1988, the church recognized that the position was not just a job but a ministry of it's own. She was offered a full-time position with the ministry title of Church Administrative Assistant. She continued to serve in that ministry until 1994 and then for two more years as the Financial/Education Secretary for a dear friend at a sister church.

She relocated to Cedar Creek in 1999 bringing her closer to her two sons. her oldest son, Brett, lives in New Braunfels with his family and her youngest son, Scott, lives in Marble Falls. God has allowed her to serve Him voluntarily in several churches where she was needed (as a church clerk, church treasurer or on financial committees) and honored His promise to lead her to the right place of service. in the fall of 2001 she joined the First Baptist Church of Bastrop. Through her service, she renewed old acquaintances. It wasn't long before God opened another door for her to serve Him again. In February of 2002 she was offered to work in the First Baptist Church ministry as the Church Secretary.