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Dr. Darin M. Wood was born on May 7, 1968 in El Paso, TX. He grew up
in Joshua, TX (class of 1986) in the house where his mother and
step-dad still live. He was saved at 8 yrs old through the influence
of his godly grandmother who taught him a deep love for Jesus and
His Word. During his high school years, Darin felt the Lord’s
leadership toward vocational ministry and surrendered to that call.
Under the leadership of the Lord,
Darin attended Dallas Baptist University. In 1990, Darin graduated
from DBU with a B.A. in Biblical Studies and a scholarship offer to
attend Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth. While attending seminary,
Darin worked at Sears and served First Baptist Church in Joshua (his
home church) in a variety of roles.
Darin graduated in 1993 with a
Master’s Degree and went to work for the Baptist General Convention
of Texas in Dallas, serving in the Youth Evangelism offices. In
1996, Darin was called as Minister to Students at Immanuel Baptist
Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma. During his tenure there, he became
convicted of the Lord’s calling on his life to return to
Southwestern Seminary in pursuit of the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
In the fall of 1999, Darin began work
toward a doctoral degree, a process that would culminate in
graduation on May 5, 2006, at which time he graduated with a Ph.D.
in New Testament Studies. His dissertation, “Reconstructing the
Gospels of Matthew and John from the Writings of Clement of
Alexandria,” is a work he’s eminently proud of – especially because
it’s completed!
In October of 1999, Memorial Baptist
Church in Corsicana was seeking pastor. They requested Darin to fill
the position, and the nearly-eight-year journey since then has been
rewarding for both Darin and the church.
On May 6, 2000, Darin married the
love of his life, Julie. They’d been friends for a long time and,
although they are presently childless, they are actively seeking the
Lord to change that!
Darin’s great passions are helping
people find truth in Christ, teaching the power and veracity of the
Bible, building relationships with people, reading, and athletics. |
Kern Railsback
Minister of Music
When asked about his Ministry at First Baptist Kern’s
reply is “I believe that I have been called to serve the Lord
through the Ministry of Music. I enjoy helping people worship
God and teaching them how to improve their musical skills. I
have a vision for the music ministry to be an outstanding example in
our community and area where we use and embrace traditional church
music and experiment and utilize the best in contemporary forms of
music."
Kern likes to relax by playing
racquetball and working out. His favorite movie (all though he knows
it’s cheesy) is
The Sound of Music. His favorite food is Mexican and his
favorite time of the year is summer (no school!).
Kern says he would someday like to travel to Italy and the best
Vacation he's ever had was to Hawaii.
What Kern likes most
about serving at First Baptist is working
with willing and able people and seeing the progress they've made
over the years.
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