Meet Huston’s First Baptist Church
Houston’s First is a thriving, diverse, and relevant Biblical community of real people experiencing real life together. Sundays are a time when we gather together to grow and give of what we have, but our lives consist of much more than attending church on Sunday. We want to be the Church every day of the week.
In need of a right-hand man
Houston’s First was searching for a minister of campus development to partner with the campus pastor, Jason Swiggart, to champion the vision of Houston’s First Baptist Cypress and to develop systems and strategies to enable the church to fulfill its mission. The perfect candidate would be a key visionary, minister, shepherd, and coach in leading the staff and providing resources necessary for their ministries to operate more effectively.
The minister of campus development would become Jason’s right-hand partner and representative, assisting in the overall leadership and direction of church staff. This includes overseeing the family ministry and adult ministry. Their oversight of the team would grow the church toward building and managing effective discipleship, missional, educational, and administrative systems to best accomplish the vision Jason would set. For these reasons, the minister of campus development would need to understand and passionately pursue the mission of the ministry at Houston’s First.
With these needs in mind, Houston’s First reached out to Vanderbloemen to find the right person they would trust to lead their church.
Our consultant Eric Albert spent some time with Houston’s First, and he spoke in depth with Jason about the type of person who would collaborate with and lead their team well. Houston’s First values the mission behind their ministries, so the ideal candidate had to match the church’s heart and vision. Houston’s First expressed hope for finding a reliable candidate whose years of experience and expertise would encourage the team.
A relational leader is found
After searching and interviewing, there were several outstanding candidates to consider for the position. The church was able to decide on their final candidate, Kevin Phillips, to join the team. Kevin grew up in Houston, and when his parents became believers, they brought the family to attend Houston’s First. Kevin was 8 years old.
“About a year following my parents’ decision [to come to faith], I accepted God’s gift of salvation,” Kevin said. “I trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins and asked God to take control of my life. That began my journey with God which has led me to love Him and His church.”
Kevin received his Master of Arts in Christian Education in 1996, and a Doctorate in Educational Ministry in 2021. He brings in 30 years of ministry experience, with the last 15 being in family ministry and spiritual development. Over time, he has developed an expertise in and passion for leading others to Biblically honor God through various ministries within the Church.
His education was “born out of the desire to build disciplines in my life, personal and ministry, to better lead the local church towards a Biblical model of discipleship,” Kevin said. “Being a relational leader, I am excited to engage a leadership team of many members with enthusiasm. My greatest passion and giftedness have shown up in leadership and team development.”
Coming home to the church of his childhood
Kevin and his wife of 29 years moved from Midlothian to Houston to return to the church of his childhood. He has taken on the role of overseeing ministry at Houston’s First Baptist Cypress and guiding the staff in spiritual growth as they pursue the will of God.
