Meet the Pastor

 “It is my greatest aim in life to live as Christ lived, to love as Christ loved, and to serve as Christ served”.

A native of Texas, Pastor James received the call to ministry in 1979 shortly after graduating high school. 

He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and biblical studies from Houston Baptist University in 1983.  After working as Youth pastor for the First Baptist Church of Old Ocean, Tx. James moved to Fort Worth, Tx. where he earned a Masters of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1990. 

He then served as pastor for the Trinity Baptist Church in Palacios, Tx.  It was from this position that he and his family moved to the mission field in Canada where they served as church planters from September of 1993 to February of 2002.  James became the pastor of First Baptist Taos in March of 2002.  He is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry degree at Denver Seminary.

He is married to Shari since July of 1985 and has a son, Ryan, attending Wayland Baptist University and daughter Ashley, at Taos High School.

When not in church and community work, you'll find him involved in sports, outdoor activities (hiking, hunting, fishing, etc.)

Pastor James is passionate about bringing the gospel of Christ to the shattered and fragmented lives of those about him.  His heart is to see First Baptist Church become a regional center of biblical, Christ-honoring worship, authentic Christian community, and leadership training for Christian ministry that is modeled on the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.