Dr. Rick Smith

Dr. Rick Smith serves as senior pastor of the church. He has served as pastor of the church for 10 years. This is his 35th year of pastoral ministry in Texas. This is his 7th church to pastor in Texas. He has served in various places across Texas such as Seagraves, Elgin, Mexia, and Granger.

Dr. Smith is a pastor, counselor, teacher, author, ventriloquist, singer, instrumentalist, and police chaplain.

He earned a Master's of Divinty Degree and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. He also has a B.A. in Communication from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Concerning his experience as a counselor, he has been a pastoral counselor for 35 years, logging in over 4500 hours of counseling with hundreds of people. His focus is on conflict resolution through Biblical principles and psychological methodologies.

Concerning his experience as an author, he is the author of the book, Experiencing God's Love in the Midst of Conflict. Available from the church office, the book is in workbook study course form and textbook form. So far, he has taught the course to over 400 people during the past several years. The book addresses the subject of conflict and its resolution from a Biblical perspective and asks the question: "What does God have to do with conflict?" Christian spiritual and relational health is the theme of the book.

Concerning his experience as a ventriloquist, he is an amateur puppet ventriloquist. He has been performing as a ventriloquist for about 28 years. He performs programs for churches, schools, civic organizations, camps, and various meetings and conferences. At present, he has four main puppets that he uses regularly in his presentations: Geoffrey the Giraffe, Melvin the Monkey, Doug the Dog, and Dr. Pat. His presentations always have a distintive Christian flavor that mixes humor and a moral lesson.

Concerning his experience as a singer and instrumentalist, he performs songs vocally as well as accompanies himself on the guitar or banjo. Often, he leads others in worship of God or various musical activities.

Concerning his experience with chaplaincy, he has been serving the Santa Fe Police Department of Santa Fe, Texas, as Chaplain for about 10 years.

Pastor Rick Smith has been married to Kay for 35 years, and together they have been blessed with three children.