Pastor Search

Meet Our Pastor Search Committee

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Charlie Turner

Committee Co-Chair

Charlie has been a member of FBC Lewisville since 1991. He is originally from North Carolina and his employment had him living in several southern states before finally being relocated to Dallas in 1991. He and his wife Brenda live in Highland Village. Their two children spent their formative years in this church; Jennifer now lives in Richardson, TX and Wes now lives with his family in Midland, TX.

Charlie is a Deacon and has taught the Colbert Bible study class for many years. He is currently serving on the Finance Committee and has served on several other committees in the past. He served as co-chairman of the Phase II Building committee, which was responsible for the construction of the west end of the current building, and as chairman of the 2015 Long Range Planning Committee, which recommended the construction of the current children’s wing and other mission and operational recommendations. Charlie believes God has already picked our next Senior Pastor and asks you to pray that we seek his guidance toward that one.

Charlie's Bio
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Bronwen Zilmer

Committee Co-Chair

Bronwen joined First Baptist Lewisville in 2009 and in 2015 started the Oasis ministry at FBCL for people with Alzheimer’s/Dementia , which she continues to coordinate. Bronwen and her husband Dan were longtime directors and current members of The Journey Bible Study Class. She has served the church as a volunteer in TOMS, VBS, and children’s and youth camp, as well as serving on the Long Term Planning Committee, Missions Committee, and Leadership Council. Bronwen and Dan live in Highland Village and have two girls, Reese, 16, and Harper, 14. Bronwen loves her church and is excited to see what the future holds for FBCL. When she looks around on Sundays she sees a wonderful group of people ready to serve the Lord and their community. Bronwen asks for your prayers as the PSC seeks to discern who God has in mind to lead our church.

Bronwen's Bio
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Joe Irick

Joe grew up in Denton and went to work for State Farm Insurance after graduation from UNT. He moved to Lewisville in 1972 and opened his insurance business. He has served numerous civic organizations over the years including the Lewisville ISD School Board for 15 years, 12 as president.

Joe has been married to his wife, Linda for 53 years. They have 3 married children, all living in the area, and 4 teenage grandchildren.

Joe and Linda have been members of First Baptist Church for 11 years and he currently serves as a Deacon and member of the Personnel Committee. He taught a men’s Sunday school class at a previous church for 30 years. He is honored to serve on the Pastor Search Committee and confident God is already leading the right person to First Baptist.

Joe's Bio
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Julie Dawes

Julie and her family have called FBCL their church home since 2018 and they have loved being part of the FBCL family. Julie’s husband, Alex, serves as a Deacon and is also a member of the Leadership Council, while her daughter, Allison (14), is an active part of the student program. She rarely misses a Sunday morning, Sunday night, or Wednesday night with her youth group. Julie enjoys singing in the Worship Choir and volunteering with VOP student choir each Sunday. During the week, she serves as the Assistant Principal at Mockingbird Elementary in Coppell ISD. This is year 31 for Julie as an educator and she can't imagine doing anything other than loving and serving her students and her teachers. Julie is honored to serve on the Pastor Search Committee for the second time and offers her time if you have questions or concerns about the search for our next Pastor.

Julie's Bio
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Truett King

Truett and Nancy joined First Baptist Church in January 1998. Truett came to serve as Associate Pastor. As Associate Pastor he oversaw missions, senior adults and pastoral care. Truett retired in 2011. He presently serves on the missions committee and as a Single Adult Bible teacher. His ministry background includes minister of education in 3 churches, church growth consultant with the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay) and Truett and Nancy were missionaries to Korea.

Truett and Nancy have two daughters, six grandchildren, and a recent addition of great-grandchild Cash. Truett loves the way FBCL members care for each other and serve the community in so many ways, having a strong mission emphasis to the community, state, and around the world. He believes God has placed our church in a strategic location to reach our community and the surrounding area.

Truett's Bio
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Melynda Mears

Melynda and her husband Eric joined FBC Lewisiville in 2006, when their son Jordan was just one year old. She spent the next several years in grad school studying social work and theology and had the opportunity to serve the church as missions intern under Jimmy Bryan. Melynda has also served in the nursery, TOMS ministry, kids’ choir, VBS, and Bible Study as director and as teacher. Over the years, she has been involved with the women’s ministry through Moms Inc., Bible studies, and special events. Last fall, Melynda helped start a new Sunday morning Bible Study class for young adults and enjoys teaching that class with Eric. She also currently serves on the Missions Committee.

Melynda is a licensed social worker with MSW and MDiv and has spent the last several years working in nursing facilities. She is currently looking for a new position doing community development work or community-based ministry. Melynda and Eric have two children, Jordan (18) and Ellie (9), who are involved in the student and children’s ministries. In addition to teaching, Eric serves the church as part of the worship team. The Mears family is invested and involved in the life of this church, and Melynda is humbled to serve during this pastoral transition. She is praying that all generations of our church will connect with each other and connect with the new pastor.

Melynda's Bio
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Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson is married to Chelsea Johnson with four daughters: Kinsley (13), Braylie (11), Landry (7) and Hadley (3).  He currently serves as a young adult Bible study teacher and has served as a growth group leader and in Wired252 in the past. Rian is a Solution Architect for The Vested Group where he helps organizations implement Enterprise Resource Planning software. He also coaches the Unicorns, Landry’s youth soccer team. Rian’s earliest memories of FBCL are on the orange carpet in the Old Town Lewisville. He is grateful for the generations that have created a strong foundation and is excited for the next chapter of our church.

Rian's Bio
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Lauren Cooper

Lauren has been a member of FBCL for seven years. In that time, she has served on the Moms Inc steering team, First Steps Preschool Committee, VBS, and co-taught the Roots adult Bible study class. She currently serves in the children’s ministry with WIRED252, her favorite night of the week. One of the things she loves most about FBCL is the children’s ministry, and its commitment to giving kids a solid foundation of Biblical teaching. Originally from New Mexico, Lauren has seen this church become family, coming alongside and seeing her through some very hard times. Lauren is honored to be serving on the Pastor Search Committee and knows that God has great things in store for FBCL.

Lauren is a stay at home mom and freelance illustrator. She lives in Flower Mound with her husband Matt, daughter Eleanor, 6, and another on the way!

Lauren's Bio
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Braxton Bragg

Braxton is an engineer with Lockheed Martin and has been attending First Baptist Church of Lewisville for over 13 years. He currently serves in child care and on the leadership team for the Men's Ministry. In past years, he has served as a Bible study class director and teacher. Braxton met his wife, Katie, at Texas Tech University and they were married at FBCL in July of 2010. They have three wonderful kids: Jack (9), Crue (6), and Wilder (almost 2). Braxton loves the multigenerational aspect of our church where he, Katie, their kids, and Katie's parents can all worship and grow together as a family.

Braxton's Bio

Updates from the committee

Pastor Search Update September 2023

September 14, 2023

The PSC has been conducting multiple interviews with several strong candidates. We are excited about where God is leading us and very optimistic about the future of our church.  Please pray for discernment as we narrow in on who God is calling to be the pastor of FBCL. Pray that the…

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Pastor Search Update July 2023

June 22, 2023

The PSC is currently interviewing candidates and seeking the Lord’s will in fervent prayer for who our next pastor will be.  Please pray for our future pastor and his family, that God will be moving in their hearts. Pray that the Lord will lead us to the man he has prepared…

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Pastor Search Update June 2023

May 25, 2023

The PSC is currently reviewing resumes and actively recruiting high-quality candidates. We are meeting weekly and our discussions have been fruitful.  Committee bios, where you can learn a bit more about each of us, are linked on the church website. You can also find several members of the committee at our…

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Pastor Search Update May 2023

May 4, 2023

The Pastor Search Committee has been meeting weekly to discuss our process and criteria for evaluating candidates. In our discussions, we have chosen to take the more traditional approach of reviewing resumes ourselves, and therefore will be utilizing Matt Wright of Slingshot only in a coaching role, along with Dr. Vang. …

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